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Scientists at Oxford Take Early Lead in Race to Create Vaccine

VOA News

   Scientists at Oxford University are racing to develop a vaccine for the
   coronavirus well ahead of the standard medical timeline.

   The scientistshave expressed confidence in their ability todo
   itquickly, raising hopes around the world that a vaccine will not have
   to wait until next year.

   The first injections of the vaccine being developed bythe
   university'sJenner Institute in Britain took place last week.Scientists
   are planning to massively scale up their testing in a little over a
   month, a timeframethat is currently faster than other vaccine
   development efforts.

   The New York Timesreported Monday that the scientists plan to test
   their vaccine on more than 6,000 people by the end of May.

   The team at Oxford said their aim is to produce a million doses of the
   vaccine, if it proves effective, by September--months ahead of a
   standard timeline of 12to18 months routinely quoted by health
   professionals around the world.

   ProfessorSarah Gilbert,team leader of theprogram,said she is "80%
   confident" the vaccine will work.

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