The institute began animal trials for its ‘BriLife’ vaccine in March (representation)
Jerusalem:
Israel began human trials on Sunday for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate which, if successful, could be ready for the general public by the end of next summer.
Eighty volunteers will first participate in the trial, which will be extended to 960 people in December. If these trials are successful, a third stage with 30,000 volunteers is scheduled for April / May.
“We are in the home stretch,” said Shmuel Shapira, director general of the Israel Institute for Biological Research.
The institute, which is overseen by the Department of Defense, began animal trials for its ‘BriLife’ vaccine in March and announced a week ago that it had received regulatory approval to switch to it. ‘next step.
Shmuel Yitzhaki, head of the institute’s biology division, told Reuters that if all goes well, the vaccine could reach the general population by the end of next summer.
As the first group of volunteers received the potential vaccine, elementary students across the country have returned to school as a second national lockdown is gradually ending.
Restrictions in Israel, with a population of 9 million, are slowly being lifted following a steady decline in the rate of daily infections.
Grades 1 through 4 were the first to return to school on Sunday. Older children still learn at home.
The government has also approved the phased reopening of businesses and recreational activities.
The country reported 674 new cases on Friday – up from a peak of more than 9,000 several weeks ago. It has reported 2,541 deaths from the pandemic.
(This story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
