New coronavirus vaccine goes into human trials in Australia

As universities and companies around the world race to develop a coronavirus vaccine, an experimental candidate developed by a US biotechnology firm has been injected into 131 human volunteers in Australia.

It comes as the global death toll from Covid-19 reaches roughly 350,000, with some 5.5m confirmed cases worldwide.

The vaccine, created by Maryland company Novavax, has been formulated using an alternative method from the others being developed around the world. That the several vaccines moving into human trials have been constructed using a number of different technologies is regarded as a positive sign, raising the probability that one of them may succeed.

Most of the vaccines currently at the experimental stage are designed to train the immune system to recognise the “spike” protein that studs the coronavirus’ outer surface, priming the body to react as if it were exposed to the real virus.

This can be done using various methods. Some candidate vaccines are made using just the genetic code for that protein, while others use a harmless virus to deliver the protein-producing information; others are made with dead whole virus, a more old-fashioned method.

Human trials are set to proceed to their second and third phases — but with coronavirus infection rates in the UK falling sharply, Oxford scientist Adrian Hill has warned that there may not be enough people in the UK to catch the virus for a conclusive trial to be conducted.

With Associated Press

Read more

Seven charts that show the true scale of the UK coronavirus outbreak

‘They can blame it for everything’: What coronavirus means for Brexit

The Americans who think that coronavirus is a hoax

Do you need a face mask and where can you buy one?

UK lockdown: Can I see my family and friends under new rules?