Researchers and scientists around the Netherlands are working hard to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus.
Pharmaceutical company Janssen, located in Leiden, is currently working on developing such a vaccine, reports NU.
First tests of the vaccine are promising
Hanneke Schuitemaker, the head of the viral vaccine department within the company, has said that while she cannot give guarantees, the first tests of the vaccine are promising.
The vaccine is still in its first phrases, but so far, the tests revealed that the vaccine produces antibodies that then latch on to and neutralise the coronavirus.
A billion dollars have been invested in this vaccine by the parent company of Janssen, Johnson and Johnson, alongside the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the US Department of Health.
The vaccine is in production already
If all goes well, by September we will have the first trials of the vaccine on people. Based on the results then, it will be decided whether to mass-produce it and hopefully by early 2021, it will be readily available.
In any case, the vaccine is already in production, so that in the eventuality that it does work, a stock is already ready to go.
Jannsen already has a track record of developing a vaccine against Ebola
A reason for optimism regarding the vaccine developed by Jannsen is that they’ve already been successful in developing a vaccine against Ebola.
The reason why BARDA decided to make the investment is that the two worked together in the past in order to find a cure for Ebola. Schuitemaker has said that BARDA is confident of Jannsen’s methods.
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