Wits Covid-19 vaccine trial results expected soon, says Madhi
Wits University Professor of Vaccinology Shabir Madhi says the results of the ongoing Covid-19 vaccine trial will be made public sooner than expected.
Madhi was speaking during a World Health Organisation (WHO) Africa's virtual briefing on Thursday.
He is leading Africa's first vaccine trial.
"The timing of when we will get the result of whether the vaccine works or not is going to be sooner and, the reason for that is the high rate of transmission occurring in South Africa," said Madhi.
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"So we would be able to determine whether or not the vaccine works when we have got up 42 cases of Covid-19 that has occurred in participants. And we anticipate that it would occur in November or December, previously we had predicted it would occur in June next year.”
He said while 19 trials are being conducted globally, the focus should remain on flattening the curve since the development of a successful vaccine will take time.
Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Africa, said they are calling more African countries to participate in clinical trials as the number of cases has reached over 500 000.