Kenya given go-ahead to start Covid-19 vaccine human trials
Kenya has been given the go-ahead to begin Covid-19 vaccine human trials on 40 volunteers by the relevant authorities.
The trial will be led by the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) in conjunction with the University of Oxford.
The two will be testing the viability of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine which was made through the modification of adenovirus; a virus which causes the mild flu amongst chimpanzees.
To modify it, scientists extracted a genetic material component from the Covid-19 virus and inserted it into the genetic material of the adenovirus. A similar procedure was used to create the Ebola vaccine which enabled West Africa to contain the virus.
Some of the 40 volunteers will receive the ChAdOx1 vaccine and others will be given the rabies vaccine. The participants will not know which vaccine they have been given.
“Those who will be involved in the trials…their health and well-being will not be affected,” the KEMRI Director-General Prof. Kombe Yeri said.
Kenya will become the second African country to receive the vaccine after South Africa. UK and Brazil have also received the vaccine. In total, 8,000 people have received the vaccine in those countries.
According to KEMRI, the trial is in its 3rdphase.
