JERUSALEM (ISRAEL) – An Israeli defence ministry’s research institute is all set to begin human trials for a potential COVID-19 shot in October, said Defence Minister Benny Gantz on Thursday.
After the end of a series of Jewish holidays in October, the Israel Institute of Biological Research (IIBR) would begin the trials, said the minister. The research facility has been working on the vaccine for six months and had conducted trials in animals in March.
“All the initial experiments that have been successful … give great hope,” Gantz said after visiting the institute in Ness Ziona, which is 25 km south of Tel Aviv.
Shmuel Shapira, the IIBR’s director, said: “There is an excellent vaccine …We have the product in hand.”
The institute’s bio-chemical defence lab was visited by US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman last month and he was briefed on a coronavirus vaccine prototype for which it is seeking preliminary US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field