Even as the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage the world with over 3.06 million active cases, a vaccine trial on six macaque monkeys by Oxford University may have just raised hope that this pandemic will end soon.
The good news is a vaccine to stop coronavirus (COVID 19) could be not far away. The six macaque monkeys were given a trial vaccine that was developed by the University of Oxford and they were then heavily exposed to the coronavirus for the next 28 days, a report published a major daily revealed.
The trial found that the macaque monkeys did not develop COVID 19 despite sustained exposure to the coronavirus and were found to be free of the virus even after 28 days.
The tests were conducted by the scientists at the National Institutes of Health's Rocky Mountain Laboratory in Montana in the month of March. Each of the six rhesus macaque monkeys was administered single doses of the Oxford vaccines.
The researchers found that the pandemic-causing virus, which was making other monkeys sick had no effect on rhesus macaque monkeys inoculated with the Oxford vaccine and were 'healthy.'
"The rhesus macaque is pretty much the closest thing we have to humans," Vincent Munster, the researcher who conducted the test told The New York Times. The results of the findings are expected to share with other scientists in the coming week and will then be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.
Researchers, however, are of the view that there needed to be more than one vaccine as some may work more effectively among various groups such as children or older people.
China is reported to have approved clinical tests of the third coronavirus vaccine after the first vaccine failed.
Major General Chen Wei, a leading Chinese epidemiologist created quite a stir on Weibo last month after she injected herself and her six-member team with an untested coronavirus vaccine, which many on the Internet see as a move to prove loyalty to the People's Liberation Army. too.
However, there is a lot that is being expected off of the Oxford trial as it will provide the road-map for the future on learning about the coronavirus.
