First Covid-19 vaccine trial begins in South Africa this week

- For the first time since the pandemic, South African clinical trials for a Covid-19 vaccine is to commence

- A report claims that the clinical trial is going to be the first in now South Africa, but the entire continent

- Wits University is collaborating with the University of Oxford and the Oxford Jenner Institute

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Ravaged by Covid-19 with cases now above 100,000, South Africa is to begin the first clinical trial of a vaccine meant to end the virus.

This will be the first time such would be happening across Africa, a report said.

The first participants in the trial will be vaccinated soon, according to the University of the Witwatersrand.

The South African Ox1Cov-19 Vaccine VIDA-Trial aims to find a vaccine that will prevent infection of the virus that causes Covid-19.

The trial will be led by Shabir Madhi, Professor of Vaccinology at Wits University and Director of the South Africa Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit (VIDA).

Commenting at the launch of the vaccine trial, which will take place at numerous sites in SA, Madhi said that: “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 Zeblon Vilakazi facilitated the virtual launch and weighed in on the historic moment: “Wits University identified vaccinology as a key institutional flagship project in 2016. Vaccines are amongst the most powerful tools to mitigate life-threatening diseases. Without a vaccine against Covid-19, there will likely be ongoing contagion, causing severe illness and death. Wits is committed to developing a vaccine to save lives in collaboration with the University of Oxford.”

The vaccine is currently being evaluated in a massive trial in the United Kingdom, with over 4,000 participants already enrolled. The vaccine was developed by the Oxford Jenner Institute.

Legit.ng had weeks ago reported how a group of Nigerian Catholic priests claimed to have developed a supposed cure for the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, a drug called Pax CVD Plus.

The disclosure was made in a statement released and signed by Father Anselm Adodo OSB on Wednesday, April 29, on the official page of the Pax Herbal Clinic and Research Laboratories.

In what looks like another breakthrough, Nigerian universities’ scientists under the aegis of COVID-19 Research Group reportedly discovered COVID-19 vaccine.

The scientists made the disclosure on Friday, June 19, saying the vaccine was being developed locally in Africa for Africans but would also work for other continents when unveiled.

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Source: Legit.ng