UK Government backs Oxford Uni scientists who claim Covid-19 vaccine could be ready by autumn

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The UK Government has offered financial backing to support Oxford University scientists who are confident of getting a Covid-19 vaccine ready by the autumn.

IT has also unveiled a new task force to support scientists in their attempts to speed up the race for a vaccine. The task force, led by Chief Scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance and Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Jonathan van Tam, will support efforts to rapidly develop a vaccine as soon as possible. As well as providing resources and support, the tax force will review regulations to allow quick and safe vaccine trials. It will also scale up manufacturing when a vaccine becomes available, so it can be produced quickly and in mass quantities.

According to Professor Andrew Pollard, Oxford University’s Chief Investigator of the study, British volunteers could be given the first dose of a potential Covid-19 vaccine as early as next week. The Oxford University’s scientists say they are confident they can provide at least a million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine by the autumn of this year.

Sarah Gilbert, Professor of Vaccinology at Oxford University, who is leading the research team, said she is “80 per cent confident of the vaccine’s success.” However, there is “always an unknown” and scientists can never be sure that vaccines are going to work, she added.

“Personally, I have a high degree of confidence,” stated Gilbert. “This is my view, because I’ve worked with this technology a lot, and I’ve worked on the Mers vaccine trials, and I’ve seen what that can do. And, I think, it has a very strong chance of working.”

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Pepi Sappal

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