As the lethal coronavirus continues to wreak havoc globally with death toll exceeding 200,000, the scientific community is also racing towards a vaccine that can bring succour to humanity.
The Oxford University’s Jenner Insititute believes it has produced an effective Coronavirus vaccine, and plans to carry out clinical tests on 6,000 people before the end of May.
The Jenner vaccine was tested on six rhesus macaque monkeys at the US National Institutes of Health’s Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Montana last month, according to the New York Times.
The monkeys were exposed to high doses of the virus, and all six remained healthy 28 days later.
Monkeys without the vaccine fell sick, according to the report.
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), which is funding nine different coronavirus vaccine projects, is hopeful a vaccine could be ready this year, Bloomberg reports.
CEPI had initially envisaged a later timescale because it had not taken factors into account such as companies working together.