According to reliable sources, Belgium-based multinational pharmaceutical company, Janssen Pharmaceutica has reportedly initiated the administration and enrolment of participants for the phase 3 clinical trials of its potential COVID-19 vaccine candidate.

If sources are to be believed, the investigational drug, which is modelled on the Ebola vaccine, will be initially tested on 6000 participants from 17 locations across the United Kingdom including Southampton, Leicester, Dundee, Cardiff, Bristol and Belfast. Moreover, a total of 24,000 volunteers will be recruited from other countries.

For the record, the placebo-controlled trials will investigate the efficacy and safety of the potential coronavirus vaccine by introducing a weakened common cold virus. The virus will apparently spike the coronavirus proteins in the cells of the candidates, which will in turn trigger an immune response.

It is to be noted that the phase 1 and 2 trials of Janssen’s vaccine revealed that the investigational drug induces a robust immune response and is well-tolerated by a majority of the candidates.

Sources close to the matter claimed that around 25,000 Britons have participated in the clinical trials for the potential COVID-19 vaccine and more than 310,000 individuals have agreed to sign up to the NHS (National Health Service) vaccine research registry.

Chairman of the U.K. vaccine taskforce, Kate Bingham was reported saying that although the recent development is highly encouraging, the department will continue to focus towards the research of the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccine.

Saul Faust, principal investigator of the clinical trials and professor of pediatric immunology and infectious diseases at the University of Southampton mentioned in a statement that there is a high demand for volunteers who are at a great risk for contracting the Coronavirus, primarily frontline health and social care workers and individuals from the Asian, African and other minority communities.

If the phase 3 trials conclude the efficacy and safety of the investigational vaccine, the U.K. government will reportedly administer around 30 million doses of the drug by the first half of 2021.

Source credits: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/16/6000-uk-volunteers-to-be-injected-with-covid-vaccine-in-phase-3-trial