Wits university announced it’s clinical trial today for the first African COVID-19 vaccine to begin on Wednesday.
The announcement was made at a virtual press conference hosted by the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) has partnered with the Bill Gates Foundation to develop the vaccine.
According to the institution, 2000 people between age 18 and 65 will be registered for the trial, which will run-through various site in South Africa.
Professor of Vaccinology at Wits University and director of SAMRC’s Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics (VIDA) Research Unit, Shabir Madhi, who is leading the South African Ox1Cov-19 Vaccine VIDA-Trial said screening for participants started last week, and the first ones will be vaccinated this week.
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,” said Madhi at the launch of the South African Ox1Cov-19 Vaccine VIDA-Trial.
