China has a fifth potential coronavirus vaccine in a human trial and more are on the way, a health official said Friday, as the world races to find a formula to stop the contagion in its tracks.

So far there have been no "major adverse reactions" reported among the 2,575 volunteers participating in the five phase-two tests, said Zeng Yixin, deputy director of the National Health Commission.

"According to the plan, if all goes well, the above projects will complete the second phase of clinical trials in July this year," Zeng said.

More vaccine candidates are in the pipeline and awaiting approval for human trials, he added.

China had previously said four human trials for possible vaccines were under way.

Zeng did not say when the trials, which must complete three phases for the drug to be approved for use, might be finished.

Scientists around the world are working at breakneck speed to develop a vaccine for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, which has killed more than 300,000 people and infected over 4.4 million.

But China's success in largely taming the outbreak could pose a hurdle for its vaccine developers when they reach the final stage of testing.

The drug must be administered to a group of volunteers and a placebo given to a control group in the same area where the virus is spreading to see if it works.

Beijing-based Sinovac Biotech, which developed one of the vaccines being tested, has told AFP that it is looking to carry out the final stage of its trial abroad because China does not have a large enough coronavirus cluster.

Experts say it will take at least 12 to 18 months to develop an effective vaccine, possibly even longer.

Related Links
Epidemics on Earth - Bird Flu, HIV/AIDS, Ebola

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The Space Media Network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceMediaNetwork Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceMediaNetwork Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

"Lean lab" approach enables quick research ramp down
Boston MA (SPX) May 15, 2020
When MIT announced in March that most research labs on campus would need to ramp down to help prevent the spread of Covid-19, Canan Dagdeviren's lab was ready. For the past two years, Dagdeviren and her lab manager, David Sadat, have run the Conformable Decoders Group using "lean lab" management principles, working closely with MIT's Environment, Health and Safety Office (EHS). Every item in their lab has an assigned function and location, and there are strict procedures in place describing how ev ... read more