Clinical trials of a vaccine against the novel coronavirus, dubbed COVID-19, in China will most probably begin in late April, Xu Nanping, the vice-minister for science and technology said on Friday
BEIJING (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st February, 2020) Clinical trials of a vaccine against the novel coronavirus, dubbed COVID-19, in China will most probably begin in late April, Xu Nanping, the vice-minister for science and technology said on Friday.
"As for research and development in the field of vaccines, it is expected that clinical trials of the vaccine will begin no earlier than the second half of April," Xu said at a press conference, adding that China was developing vaccines at the same pace with other countries.
Deputy head of the National Health Commission Zeng Yixin, in turn, noted that some vaccines developed by China have already entered the animal testing phase.
"If it is possible to ensure efficacy and safety, then, according to preliminary forecasts, clinical trials of certain types of vaccines may begin at the earliest from April to May this year," Zeng said.
The National Health Commission's deputy head went on to explain that the vaccine development process was quite complex and lengthy, and given that COVID-19 is a completely new disease, scientists face many difficulties.
The novel coronavirus disease was first detected in the city of Wuhan, located in China's Hubei Province, in late December and has since spread to more than 25 other countries. The outbreak has already left over 76,000 people infected worldwide and resulted in more than 2,200 fatalities.
