South Africa Covid-19 Vaccine Trial

Oxford University rolled out Africa's first human trials for a potential vaccine against the new coronavirus in South Africa on Wednesday, as cases continue to rise. The trial, conducted with local partner the University of the Witwatersrand, will consist of two-thousand volunteers from 18 to 65 years of age, including some HIV positive patients, who will be monitored for 12 months after vaccination to assess how well the vaccine guards against COVID-19. South Africa is the second country outside of the United Kingdom to take part in the Oxford trial after Brazil launched its study on Wednesday. Professor Shabir Madhi is a professor of Vaccinology at Wits University and Director of the South Africa Medical Research Council (SAMRC) Vaccines and Infectious Diseases Analytics Research Unit. He was speaking to Channel Africa reporter Elizabeth Lediga, To unpack this Channel Africa's Benjamin Moshatama speaks to: • Professor Adrian Puren from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) • Professor Jeffrey Mphahlele from the Medical Research Council