Punjab’s UHS, Oxford University to carry out coronavirus vaccine trials in Pakistan

Punjab’s UHS, Oxford University to carry out coronavirus vaccine trials in Pakistan

The University of Health Sciences (UHS) Punjab, in collaboration with Oxford University, has begun preparations for a coronavirus vaccine trial in Pakistan.

According to UHS Vice-Chancellor Dr Javed, registration of volunteers has begun for the trial and around 20,000 people will be registered for the process.

Noting that it might take two months for the vaccine to be tested in Pakistan, Akram stated that in order to begin the process, permission would be sought from the government of Pakistan upon confirmation that the vaccine has been dispatched from the UK.

Given the mushrooming cases of coronavirus, countries around the world are engaged in efforts to develop an effective vaccine against the contagious disease, but so far scientists have not been able to achieve complete triumph in this regard.

The vaccine, called AZD1222, has been described by the World Health Organisation’s chief scientist as the leading candidate in a global race to halt a pandemic that has killed more than 600,000 people.

Earlier, on July 20, AstraZeneca and Oxford University’s experimental vaccine produced an immune response in early-stage clinical trials against coronavirus, preserving hopes it could be in use by the end of the year.

The vaccine from AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford prompted no serious side effects and elicited antibody and T-cell immune responses, according to trial results published in The Lancet medical journal, with the strongest response seen in people who received two doses.