The University of Cape Town together with several universities have joined in the search for a Covid-19 vaccine. The institutions will be participating in three international trials in the country.
More candidates are expected to be available for the clinical trial, said Professor Linda-Gail Bekker, the deputy director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at UCT’s Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine (IDM).
The first clinical trial in South Africa and on the continent for a Covid-19 vaccine was announced on the 23rd of June 2020. This was a collaboration between Wits University and the University of Oxford and the Oxford Jenner Institute on the South African trial.
“The three vaccines currently being evaluated in South Africa have been included on the World Health Organisation’s list of 26 most viable candidate vaccines to enter human clinical trials.”
Professor Dheda said Vaccine trials are considered to be crucial in determining whether the vaccine will be effective “in our setting”, and in facilitating vaccine access for South Africans.
“It is very important for South Africa to participate [in vaccine trials] because we can contribute to the global cause, and it helps scientists understand how South Africans will respond to these [vaccine] candidates,” Bekker said.
