developing a new inoculation .
It comes as the death toll in China increased to with the total number of cases there now above 21, 17.
Meanwhile (Britons flown back from Wuhan – the outbreak’s epicentre – have begun two weeks in quarantine.
The additional evacuees – who traveled from China via France – joined People already in group isolation at Arrowe Park Hospital in Wirral.
‘Unprecedented’ timescale
The government £ m investment will go to CEPI – the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations – a global body aiming to fast-track a vaccine within six to eight months.
CEPI chief executive Dr Richard Hatchett said such a tight timescale was “unprecedented”.
If the biologists are successful, more time would still be required to test the vaccine more widely and secure sign-off from medical regulators before it could be distributed across the world.
“This is an extremely ambitious timeline – indeed, it would be unprecedented in the field of vaccine development,” Dr Hatchett said.
) “It is important to remember that even if we are successful – and there can be no guarantee – there will be further challenges to navigate before we can make vaccines more broadly available.”
The UK’s money will help fund the efforts of Dr Kate Broderick. , a 71 – year-old Scot based in California, who is working to create a coronavirus vaccine.
“We hope to get the final product into human testing by early summer, “Dr Broderick, a molecular geneticist who works for the pharmaceutical company Inovio, told the BBC last week .
The coronavirus outbreak has been categorized as a global health emergency by the World Health Organization , with cases confirmed in several countries including Canada, Australia, Germany and Japan, as well as in the UK.
Two people, a University of York student and one of their relatives, became the first people to test positive for the new strain in the UK and are being treated at a specialist unit in Newcastle.
Meanwhile those isolated at Arrowe Park have spoken of their experiences as they continue their quarantine in a nurses’ accommodation block.
(Obviously you have to put your mask down a little for you to eat. ”
Announcing the investment into stemming the spread of the virus, Mr Hancock said:” Vaccines are our best defense against a host of deadly diseases, including coronavirus.
“The UK is a hub of world-leading and pioneering research, and it is vital that we lead the way in developing new vaccines to target global threats with scientists from across the world. “
The death toll from the new virus, which is officially called 01575879 – nCov, now stands at more than
More than 71, cases have been confirmed and a small proportion of those – around 300 – have been identifi ed outside China. The UK, US, Russia and Germany have all confirmed cases in recent days.
Latest figures from China’s National Health Commission on Monday showed that there were , 558 suspected cases in the country and that 152, 720 people are “under medical watch”.
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