A coronavirus vaccine will take ‘many months’ and there are ‘no guarantees’ one will be found to protect millions from the killer virus, ministers warned tonight.
British volunteers could be given the first dose of a potential coronavirus vaccine within the next week, leading researchers say.
Oxford University scientists are already manufacturing a million doses of their jab to be available by September because they are confident it will prove successful.
Leading experts around the world are scrambling to find a vaccine, amid fears the life-threatening infection will return in waves.
And in hope of speeding up the race, Number 10 today unveiled a new taskforce to support scientists in their attempts to rapidly make a jab.
But Business Secretary Alok Sharma said in Downing Street’s press conference that it will take ‘many months’ and there are ‘no guarantees’ one will be found.
Downing Street’s chief scientific adviser also insisted a vaccine was not around the corner and that a final jab was ‘some way off’.
In tonight’s press conference, Sir Patrick Vallance played down the hopes and said making a vaccine was a ‘difficult, complicated process’.
However, he agreed that the industry has ‘stepped up’ to the challenge, as the crisis in Britain appears to slow down.
In hope of speeding up the race for a vaccine, Business Secretary Alok Sharma today unveiled a new taskforce
How a vaccine is made: Researchers racing to find a cure extract the virus’ genetic code and inject part of the DNA sequence into animals to produce antibodies, which fight off diseases. These antibodies – which recognise COVID-19 and know how to beat it – are given to humans
Sarah Gilbert, a professor of vaccinology at Oxford University, who is leading the team said a vaccine could be available for use by the general public by the autumn.
However, she said there is always an unknown and scientists can never be sure that vaccines are going to work.
Prof Gilbert explained previous comments in which she said she was 80 per cent confident of the vaccine’s success.
She said: ‘Personally, I have a high degree of confidence.
‘This is my view, because I’ve worked with this technology a lot, and I’ve worked on the Mers vaccine trials, and I’ve seen what that can do.
‘And, I think, it has a very strong chance of working.’
Asked when the first dose of the vaccine might be delivered to a trial volunteer, Professor Andrew Pollard, chief Investigator on the study said it depended on when the last part of the testing from the manufacturing had concluded.
However, he added: ‘But it should be within the next week or so, but we’ll, we’ll confirm that as soon as we can.’
The hunt for a coronavirus vaccine has been given a boost by the launch of a Government taskforce.
Led by chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, and deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan van Tam, it will support efforts to rapidly develop a vaccine as soon as possible.
As well as providing industry and research institutions with the resources and support, the group will review regulations to allow quick and safe vaccine trials.
It will also scale up manufacturing, so that when a vaccine becomes available, it can be produced quickly and in mass quantities.
Twenty-one new research projects combating coronavirus will receive Government funding from a £14 million investment.
University of Oxford scientists are working to develop a vaccine that could prevent people from getting the coronavirus
Oxford’s vaccine programme has already recruited 510 people, aged between 18 and 55, to take part in the first trial. They will receive either the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine – which has been developed in Oxford – or a control injection for comparison
This follows the Government’s £250 million pledge to develop a vaccine.
Representatives from Government, academia and industry will form the taskforce, including Government life sciences champion Sir John Bell, as well as AstraZeneca, and the Wellcome Trust.
Business Secretary Alok Sharma, who announced the taskforce at the daily Downing Street press conference, said: ‘UK scientists are working as fast as they can to find a vaccine that fights coronavirus, saving and protecting people’s lives.
‘We stand firmly behind them in their efforts.
‘The vaccine taskforce is key to co-ordinating efforts to rapidly accelerate the development and manufacture of a potential new vaccine, so we can make sure it is widely available to patients as soon as possible.’
The group will focus on five strands of activity including supporting the discovery of potential coronavirus vaccines and preparing the UK for clinical vaccine testing and manufacturing.
It is also working with the Bioindustry Association, which has set up an industry-led group, to accelerate vaccine development and manufacturing.
Chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance said: ‘The taskforce will ensure that any potential coronavirus vaccine, when available, can be produced quickly and at scale so it can be made available to the public as quickly as possible.’
One project led by the University of Oxford will trial an anti-malarial drug to determine whether it could diminish the effects of Covid-19 on people in high risk groups.
Across the UK GP surgeries have been invited to take part in the trial to determine whether it could reduce the need for affected patients to go to hospital and speed up their recovery.
Imperial College London, which is testing a vaccine against coronavirus that aims for the body to produce more protective antibodies, will also receive funding.
Another project is Public Health England’s study on how Covid-19 can be transmitted from person to person by determining how long it can survive in the air and on different materials found in hospitals.
Chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said: ‘The UK has some of the best vaccine scientists in the world, but we need to take account of the whole development process.
‘This taskforce will ensure the UK can take an end-to-end view.
‘This includes funding research, like the recent NIHR/UKRI call, and ensuring manufacturing capability to deliver a Covid-19 vaccination as quickly as possible.’