Australia's national science agency has said that it has commenced the first stage of testing potential vaccines for Covid-19, as it joins a global race to halt the coronavirus pandemic.
Pre-clinical testing by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), comprising injecting ferrets with two potential vaccines, was under way at its high-containment biosecurity facility near Melbourne.
The first phase testing would take around three months, CSIRO's director of health Rob Grenfell told Reuters, adding that any resulting vaccine would not be available to the public before late next year. "We're still sticking to the optimistic 18 months for delivery of vaccine to the general consumers," Mr Grenfell said from