German To Begin Drug Testing On 200 Healthy Humans

Only a handful of vaccine candidates have been approved for clinical testing on humans globally, and experts caution that it will take at least a year for a viable vaccine to be developed.

A possible vaccine for Coronavirus, developed by German firm BioNTech and US drug giant Pfizer, has been given the green light for human testing.

The trial will begin with 200 healthy people, aged between 18 and 55, being given the vaccine, according to BBC.

“This is a good sign that the development of a vaccine in Germany is so progressed that we can start with the first studies,” the country’s health minister, Jens Spahn, said Wednesday.

“At the same time the advice remains important that it will take months. This is an injection in the body. Safety first is the guideline for such a vaccine.”

Scientists at the UK’s Oxford University are starting human trials of a possible vaccine this week. Other clinical trials are taking place in the US and China.