Researchers confident to roll out COVID-19 vaccine this autumn

Researchers of Oxford University claimed that they could roll out coronavirus vaccine with the next eight months besides warning to face challenging situation if the outbreak peaks before a jab is ready for trials.

Britain’s chief scientific adviser said it would be at least 2021 until a vaccine was ready. Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK’s chief scientific adviser, previously said a vaccine was 12 to 18 months away from being developed and distributed to the masses.

A team of scientists from Oxford University made the commitment who were leading a major UK trial for finding COVID-19 cure among one of hundreds worldwide racing to develop coronavirus vaccine.

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The researchers added that with no tests available to identify who has already been infected it could be difficult to find unexposed people to take part in the trial.

More than 500 volunteers aged between 18 and 55 have signed up to the trial and will begin tests towards the end of the month, Dailymail UK reported.

The virus has killed 7,100 and infected 55,000 in the United Kingdom (UK) so far, whereas, the researchers at the University of Washington predicts Britain will hit its peak on April 17.

The researchers told The Telegraph: ‘The best-case scenario is that by the autumn of 2020 we have the results about the effectiveness of the vaccine from a phase III trial and the ability to manufacture large amounts of the vaccine.’

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They admitted that this time frame was ‘highly ambitious’ many things could get in the way of that target.

‘At the moment it is not possible to identify who has already been infected, and if the virus is spreading quickly throughout the population it might be difficult to find unexposed people to take part in the trial.’

‘Conducting trials after the peak subsides presents another problem, because so many people will have developed a natural immunity by then, and the amount of transmission will have dropped so that those who are still not immune will take longer to be exposed to the virus.’

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The scientists also warned that they were still struggling to get funding to scale-up production of the potential drug so it can be issued to the masses.

Trial participants will take part in the study for six months, during which they’ll attend appointments at the Oxford Vaccine Centre for screening and vaccination. They will be injected with either the new COVID-19 vaccine or a control jab.

It comes after the first group of Chinese volunteers who received potential coronavirus vaccinations are said to be healthy after finishing 14 days of quarantine.