Israel reports on progress on vaccine against Coronavirus
The Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) in Ness Ziona has reported that it has made further progress toward a Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine, which could be ready even this coming Northern winter.
Infographic of the Coronavirus. Feb 22, 2020. Photo by Kobi Richter/TPS
Vaccine tests on golden Syrian hamsters showed that a serum they have developed is effective, paving the way for tests on humans.
The IIBR published on Friday a paper on biorxiv.com, a repository for scientific papers that have yet to be peer-reviewed and are therefore semi-official, in which is stated that “we suggest recombinant VSV-ΔG-spike as a safe, efficacious and protective vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 infection.”
The IIBR sets a timeline of a year or less for the final development of the vaccine. The IIBR is still required to go through three phases of human testing and other stages.
In May, the IIBR officially announced that it had completed the patent registration for eight Coronavirus antibodies, another significant step towards the production of a cure for the pandemic.
Earlier that month, the IIBR announced that it had made a significant breakthrough in the fight on the COVID-19 pandemic and had developed a potent antibody that attacks the virus.
To date, some 8,922,000 Coronavirus cases have been registered worldwide in 213 countries, with over 466,800 deaths and some 4,743,000 recoveries.
Friday saw the highest ever number of daily new cases with 180,000 new infections worldwide.
TPS
