COVID-19: Israel to begin vaccine trials from Nov 1 after receiving regulatory approval

After receiving all the required approvals from the Ministry of Health and the Helsinki Committee, the Israeli Defence Ministry said that the Israel Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) will start human trials of its coronavirus vaccine from November 1. According to the reports by PTI, the committee is bound to ensure the well being of all the candidates involved in trials. Also, it will make sure that the experiment is conducted with keeping all the medical guidelines and ethics in mind. According to a tally by the John Hopkins University, Israel has a total of 309,946 cases with 2,397 fatalities. 

Israel plans vaccine trials 

In mid-October, Israel planned to ease restrictions when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the country is set to exit its second coronavirus lockdown, but this time "carefully and responsibly". The country managed to contain the breakdwon by sealing borders. The human trials of the vaccine candidate Brilife will involve around 30,000 candidates and is divided into three stages. The vaccine is expected to come out for use only after mid 2021. According to the reports by PTI, alternate Prime Minister-cum-Defence Minister Benny Gantz said, “This is a day of hope for the citizens of Israel, thanks to the IIBR researchers. Just two months ago I received the first bottle of the vaccine. Today we already have 25,000 vaccine doses and are starting the next phase of the test”. He thanked the team of researchers and called them a ‘commando unit’ for paving the way for their citizens. 

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Gantz assured the citizens that he, along with the Israeli Government and Defence establishment will continue to provide support and the resources which are required to establish a safe and efficient ‘blue and white vaccine’, referring to the colours in the flag and also the name of his party. The trial will begin with only 2 candidates, however, the first phase will include multiple safety tests on 80 ‘healthy volunteers’. The second phase will involve extensive safety tests on 960 healthy volunteers. The third phase will check the effectiveness of the vaccine as it will include 30,000 volunteers. 

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The vaccine has already been tested on several ‘animal models’. It was concluded that it had an effective immune response in small animals like mice, hamsters and rabbits, and also big animals like pigs. IIBR Director, Prof Shmuel Shapira said, “We are now beginning a crucial phase in the development of the vaccine -- the clinical trials phase. I believe in the abilities of our scientists and I am confident that we can produce a safe and effective vaccine”.

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