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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Ugandan government is in talks with the Imperial London College to take part in its COVID-19 vaccine trials.
The Imperial London College began human trials of their vaccine in June 2020 with a small dose of the vaccine being administered to a volunteer in West London. A total of 50 participants will take part in the trial to determine the safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine.
If allowed to take part in the Imperial College trials, Uganda would be the second African country after South Africa where clinical trials for a COVID-19 vaccine are taking place. The South African trials are using the Oxford vaccine.
The Executive Director of the Uganda Virus Research Institute and the Medical Research Council Prof Pontiano Kaleebu says that having trials take place in the country would be a great contribution to the search for a COVID-19 vaccine.
“When vaccine trials take place, this is a good thing because successful vaccines need to be tested on different groups of people. If trials take place here, the developers of the vaccine will know the efficacy of the vaccine on the African continent which will give a better representation,” he said.
While addressing a press briefing, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO Africa director said that vaccine trials open the access window for partners.
“People who participate in trials have higher chances of receiving the vaccine once it is licensed. For this reason, it is important for African countries to enter vaccine trials. This will enable countries to get the vaccines faster than if they were tried solely elsewhere,” Dr Moeti said.
Uganda has in the past taken part in HIV and Ebola vaccine trials. While the HIV trials have not led to any vaccine being developed, Prof Kaleebu says the COVID-19 trials have good odds of resulting in a study.
As of today, 130 vaccines are being developed globally but only 19 have become candidates by showing good results and are undergoing trials at different stages. The first vaccine is expected to be ready for human consumption in June 2021.
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