HUMAN TRIALS are set to begin on a vaccine for coronavirus this week in the UK as the world frantically searches for way to end the pandemic.
The potential vaccine, which has been developed by a team of scientists at Oxford University, is to be tested on humans from Thursday, according to UK health secretary Matt Hancock.
Researchers are understood to be pushing for a speedy development and production of the vaccine in the coming months, though this will highly depend on the success of the results.
If they are indeed successful, it's thought that millions of doses could be created and distributed by September at the earliest.
Mr Hancock confirmed that preparation is being done to ensure that if the vaccine works, production can and will begin rapidly.
"At the same time we'll invest in manufacturing capabilities so if either of these vaccines safely works then we can make it available for the British people as soon as humanely possible," he explained.
Experts have predicted that life as knew it before the coronavirus outbreak won't return until we have a vaccine for the disease and can distribute it extensively.
Without one, the risk of spreading virus and potential causing another spike in infections is too great - and social distancing measures are expected to stay in place in one form or another until a vaccine is found.
Usually medical vaccines take a number of years to be developed, approved and then mass-produced, but due to the necessity of a coronavirus cure, any such vaccine will likely be sped through the approval process.
See More: Coronavirus, Covid-19, Ireland, Testing, Vaccine
