A second vaccine trial in the United Kingdom has embarked on tests with volunteers.
About 300 people will have the vaccine over the coming weeks, as part of a trial led by Prof Robin Shattock at Imperial College London, the BBC reported. The report said a second trial was being planned for October, involving 6 000 people. The Imperial team hoped the vaccine could be distributed in the UK and overseas from early 2021.
Animal tests suggested the vaccine was safe ‘and triggers an effective immune response’.
A second UK vaccine project at Oxford University has already begun human trials.
BBC medical correspondent Fergus Walsh wrote that there were more than 120 coronavirus vaccines in early development across the world. ‘Most of these will never get beyond the laboratory. A further 13 are now in clinical trials: five in China, three in the United States, two in the UK, one in Australia, Germany and Russia.’
He said all the vaccine teams ‘are keen to stress that they are not in a race against each other, but against the virus. If there are to be enough doses to protect the world, several vaccine approaches will need to be successful’.
Positive cases in South Africa rose by 5 688 to 111 796, with the death toll growing by 103 to 2 205. Of the latest deaths, 63 were in the Western Cape, 25 in Gauteng and 15 in the Eastern Cape.
News24 reported that the Department of Basic Education was two weeks away from phasing in the return of other grades to schools, but that teacher unions were still worried.
According to gazetted regulations, Grades R, 1, 2, 3, 6, 10 and 11 are expected to return to school from 6 July followed by Grades 4, 5, 8 and 9 on 3 August.
In Cape Town, principals, teachers, and parents from several schools planned to hold a picket today against the ‘premature reopening of schools’, which they said was compromising the safety of pupils.
A group of high and primary school principals wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Cabinet a week ago urging a review of the decision to reopen schools.
The letter – compiled by principals from Heathfield High, Steenberg High, Floreat High and Athlone High – said ‘the decision to reopen primary and high schools on 1 June was the wrong one. We contend that the timing is bad as wintry weather brings with it seasonal illness such as influenza … suffering and death due to Covid-19 are rising’.
They were not convinced that protective equipment offered a sufficient guarantee against infection. They said they were willing to meet education officials to discuss a postponement of the external matric examinations and trimming subject content.
Their stand comes as the Western Cape confirmed that almost 950 residents in the province were in public and private quarantine facilities.
Stats SA said yesterday that inflation had fallen to its lowest level since 2005 with the pandemic and lockdown dampening consumer demand.
The figures showed April inflation eased to 3%, the lowest level in 15 years.
In other virus-related news
- New Covid-19 cases in the United States have risen to their highest level in two months, according to Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the outbreak. On Tuesday, the US reported 34 700 new cases – the third highest daily tally since the US outbreak began, according to AP news agency. Some southern and western states have been reporting record numbers of cases; and
- The International Monetary Fund has lowered its global growth forecast for this year and next in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the BBC reported. The IMF now predicts a decline of almost 5% in 2020, substantially worse than its forecast only 10 weeks ago in April.