Vaccine Hope By September

Taskforce launched to speed up fight against virus

- Martyn Brown and Hanna Geissler

Britain is spearheading the global race to find a vaccine for Covid-19 amid signs it could be ready as soon as September.

Business Secretary Alok Sharma announced a taskforce will be formed to find a way to stop the deadly disease “as soon as possible”.

He said 21 research projects would have a £14million pot to “rapidly accelerate” plans to stop the coronavirus spread.

He revealed the news as Oxford University researchers carrying out a major vaccine trial said they expected to inject their first patient in a week – and hopefully prove that it is safe and effective by late August or September.

They will then ask for an immediate accelerated “emergency use” application. If given the green light, the vaccine could be available for use just months from now.

The Oxford team expects at least one million doses to be produced by September, potentially rising to “hundreds of millions” by the end of the year.