An Oxford scientists leading Britain's coronavirus vaccine race has urged the Government to help produce millions of doses before it has proven to be effective.
Professor Sarah Gilbert said her team needed help manufacturing the jabs, warning the UK did not have the facilities to do it alone.
Professor Sarah Gilbert, who is leading Britain's coronavirus vaccine race, has urged the Government to help produce millions of doses before it has proven to be effective
The Government's scientific advisor Sir Patrick Vallance has said ramping up production capacity will be 'challenging'.
He has cautioned people not to rely on a vaccine as an end game for the coronavirus pandemic because vaccines are a 'long shot'.
But Professor Gilbert said his comments did not pour cold water over her work - and has previously said she has 80 per cent confidence in the vaccine.
Her team at the Jenner Institute plan to get clinical trials underway by the end of this week with the help of 510 volunteers.
If they prove effective in the next stages - which would involve the elderly - they believe the vaccine could be given to the general public by September.
Professor Gilbert said Sir Patrick's comments did not pour cold water over her work - and has previously said she has 80 per cent confidence in the vaccine
The Government's scientific advisor Sir Patrick Vallance has said ramping up production capacity in this country will be 'challenging'
Clinical teams at the Oxford University's Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group began developing the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine in January.
The team have gone through stages of vaccine development that usually take five years in just four months.
They were a step ahead of other groups because they already had a base vaccine for similar coronaviruses.
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