Coronavirus Vaccine Developed By Oxford University Could Be Available By September

Work by the University of Oxford to develop a coronavirus vaccine has been “progressing well,” according to Business Secretary Alok Sharma. If trial on the vaccine succeeds, 30 million Britons will be able to get a shot of the vaccine by September.

On Sunday, Sharma revealed that the U.K. government had committed more than a quarter of a billion pounds towards the development of a coronavirus vaccine. However, he said there was no assurance one would ever be developed.

“In order to definitively conquer this disease we need to find a safe, workable vaccine,” said Sharma. “Last month I announced a new vaccine task force to coordinate the efforts of government, academia and industry in the critical mission to find a vaccine. I’m very proud of how quickly our scientists and researchers have come together in their efforts developing a vaccine that will combat coronavirus,” he added.

Sharma revealed that the initial critical trial of the vaccine developed by Oxford is well underway, with all the phase one participants having received their shots on schedule earlier this week. He said the speed at which Oxford University has designed the trials was unprecedented.

According to Sharma, the U.K. government increased the initial funding provided to Oxford to help accelerate the work on the coronavirus vaccine. “This new money will help mass-produce the Oxford vaccine so that if current trials are successful we have dosages to start vaccinating the U.K. population straight away,” he said.

With the approval of the government, pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has inked a global licensing agreement with Oxford University to expedite the production of the vaccine. If the vaccine developed by Oxford turns out successful, AstraZeneca will immediately work to produce 30 million doses of the vaccine and make them available by September.

Sharma said the Britons would be the first to gain access to the coronavirus vaccine if the trials become successful. He said, however, that the government would make sure that the vaccine would be available to developing countries at the most affordable cost.

Aside from the University of Oxford, Imperial College London is also making good progress in the development of its own coronavirus vaccine. Researchers at the Imperial College London are looking to move into clinical trials in mid-June and larger-scale trials in October.