London, April 21: Researchers at the University of Oxford will conduct human trials of a potential vaccine for coronavirus from April 23, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Tuesday. Addressing a press conference, the United Kingdom has spent more money than any other country in developing a vaccine for coronavirus (COVID-19). He also announced £20m for the research taking place at Oxford in developing the coronavirus vaccine. Coronavirus Tracker Live.

"This is a new disease, this is uncertain science, but I'm certain that we will throw everything we've got at developing a vaccine. The vaccine from the Oxford (University) project will be trialled in people from this Thursday," Matt Hancock told the press conference. He said the government will provide 20 million pounds to the Oxford research team to help fund their clinical trials, with a further 22.5 million pounds for researchers at Imperial College London, reports BBC.

"The team have accelerated that trials process, working with the regulator the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency), who have been brilliant. As a result, I can announce that the vaccine from the Oxford project will be trialled in people from this Thursday," said Hancock. In the normal course of time, a vaccine takes anytime between 12-18 months. Prince Charles Expresses His Gratitude to NHS Workers in Frontline Fighting Coronavirus in a Heart-Warming Video.

UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock's Press Conference:

Scientists at the University of Oxford last week promised a super-fast vaccine during a virtual press conference, saying the vaccine will be available by September. According to lead researcher Professor Sarah Gilbert, their "ChAdOx1" vaccine can work against coronavirus.

"If you had a sailing wind and absolutely nothing goes wrong in all of that complex technical process and you have all the facilities available, you could have millions of doses by the autumn of this year," Professor Andrew Pollard, a member of the Oxford team, told Sky News.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 21, 2020 11:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).