Doubts have been raised about the coronavirus vaccine tipped to be the ‘front runner’ in the fight against COVID-19, after a trial in monkeys found the jab is ‘only partially effective.’ The vaccine, developed by Oxford University, is currently being tested in humans, with the promise of 30 million doses for the UK by September if it proves successful.
However, a trial of the vaccine in rhesus macaque monkeys did not stop any of the animals from catching the virus, raising doubts about its effectiveness.
Writing for Forbes, Dr William Haseltine, a former professor at Harvard Medical School, said: “All of the vaccinated monkeys treated with the Oxford vaccine became infected when challenged as judged by recovery of virus genomic RNA from