Wits to start SA’s first Covid-19 vaccine trial

Well over 100 labs around the world are scrambling to come up with a vaccine against the novel coronavirus . Picture: AFP / File / Mladen ANTONOV

“This is a landmark moment for South Africa and Africa at this stage of the Covid-19 pandemic. As we enter winter in South Africa and pressure increases on public hospitals, now more than ever we need a vaccine to prevent infection by Covid-19,” Professor of Vaccinology at Wits University and director of the South Africa Medical Research Council Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit, Shabir Madhi, said in a virtual briefing on Tuesday.

The 1 950 participants, aged between 18 to 65 and who are HIV negative, should not have tested positive for Covid-19 and should not be pregnant or breastfeeding, nor have previously participated in a trial involving an adenoviral vaccine or received any other coronavirus vaccine. “Our best-case scenario is that we would have an answer [on the outcomes] for this particular vaccine by the end of the year,” Madhi added .

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