Scientists from Imperial College London expect approval for the first phase of human trials for their coronavirus vaccine, which is the second one coming from Britain. According to Daily Mail, trials could commence as soon as Wednesday. Furthermore, they claim it could cost about $3.77 per person if the vaccine were proven safe and effective.
The first 120 participants for the trial will receive the jab 48 hours after scientists have established that they had no previous exposure to the coronavirus. If the first trial yields out promising results, the scientists say that a second trial involving 6,000 participants will soon be lined up.
According to Professor Robin Shattock, the person in charge of developing the vaccine candidate, the team will ensure that the vaccine comes out as cheap as possible for the entire British population. He says that they will strive to have the whole populace for just under $251 million.
Moreover, the Imperial project has already garnered enough to produce ample amounts of the vaccine for the whole NHS and social care workers. However, Professor Shattock cautions that even if all goes according to plan, the vaccine won't be available for public use until 2021.
Britain's First Coronavirus Vaccine From Oxford
Before the vaccine from Imperial College, Oxford was the first to come up with a coronavirus vaccine contender for the UK. If the clinical trials come out successfully, the UK government anticipates the vaccine to be available by September.
The results from Oxford's trial are predicted to come out in August at the earliest. However, immediate results could be interrupted since the rate of coronavirus infection in the UK has become lower than before.
The Oxford vaccine is a type of recombinant viral vector jab wherein the scientists used modified genetic material from the coronavirus and adenovirus. Furthermore, an immune response against SARS-CoV-2 is expected once the vaccine is injected in humans.
The scientists developing the vaccine say it could train the body to eradicate the real coronavirus if they contract the virus in the future.
AZD1222, otherwise known as the Oxford vaccine, has been conducting human trials since April 23. On the other hand, Imperial's trials are anticipated to commence today.
Imperial COVID-19 Vaccine
For the development of its vaccine, Imperial has assembled a new social enterprise called VacEquity Global Health.
Imperial and VGH will forgo royalties for the UK and low-income countries. Furthermore, they claim to charge only modest cost-plus prices to maintain the enterprise's work, speed up global distribution, and support new research.
In the formulation of their vaccine, the Imperial team of researchers has taken the virus' RNA. Moreover, they devised a formula that would require health care providers to inject the genetic code intramuscularly to administer the vaccine.
Both the Imperial College London and Oxford University's vaccine projects are perceived as two of the world's front-runners.
According to Professor Shattock, the two institutions are working in collaboration with each other and exchanging information. Instead of competing against each other, he claims that although the two are using different approaches, they are working together to come up with a vaccine readily available in the quickest time possible.
