CAPE TOWN- Two possible Covid-19 vaccine candidates being developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca are nearing the finish line to have a vaccine ready by December.
The late-stage trial results could be presented this year as the British government prepares for a possible vaccination rollout in late December or early 2021.
If the Oxford vaccine proves to be effective it would be a game-changer in the battle against the novel coronavirus, which has infected over 48 million people and has killed more than 1.2-million people worldwide.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are at least ten coronavirus vaccine programmes that have progressed to Phase III trials worldwide.
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Oxford Vaccine Trial Chief Investigator Andrew Pollard spoke to Reuters saying England's National Health Service (NHS) is preparing for the distribution of the possible Covid-19 vaccines before Christmas in case one is ready by the end of the year.
The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is expected to be one of the first from big pharma to be submitted for regulatory approval. Other candidates include the Pfizer vaccine and BioNTech's candidate.
Speaking to British lawmakers earlier this week, Pollard said: "We are getting closer to but we are not there yet, There is a small chance of that being possible but I just don’t know.”
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