Human trials for new type of coronavirus vaccine begin in UK

The first volunteer in a human trial of a new type of coronarvirus vaccine, developed by Imperial College London, was injected with the immunization on Wednesday. The vaccine uses artificial strands of genetic code, called RNA, which imitate the virus rather than using a weakened or modified form of virus, which is how many traditional vaccines are made.

The Imperial College method is a new approach to vaccine production, designed to enable the immune system to respond to the virus without having to develop COVID-19. About 300 people will have the potential COVID-19 vaccine over the next few weeks following successful animal trials. After the first phase, a follow up trial is being planned for October, involving 6,000 volunteers. Human clinical trials for a potential vaccine developed by Oxford University are already taking place in the UK, Brazil and South Africa.