Coronavirus vaccine CAN be ready by autumn: Oxford professor says trials could end by mid-August but real challenge will be manufacturing 'many billions of doses' - as he reveals first tests on humans began this week

A coronavirus vaccine could be ready by autumn, an Oxford University professor has said.

Sir John Bell said trials could be finished by mid-August but warned the real challenge would be manufacturing 'many billions of doses'.

He also revealed the prestigious institution started human trials with a candidate vaccine this week.

There have been conflicting reports over when a vaccine will be ready, with No 10's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance saying one was not around the corner.

But he said the industry has 'stepped up' to the challenge as the crisis in Britain appears to slow, despite another 847 new deaths announced yesterday.

The government yesterday launched a task force to support scientists in their attempts to find a life-saving jab.

Sir John Bell (left) said trials could be finished by the middle of August but warned the real challenge would be manufacturing 'many billions of doses'. There have been conflicting reports over when a vaccine will be ready, with No 10's chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance (right) saying one was not around the corner

Sir John, who is a a member of the Government's vaccine task force, was asked on Saturday about the possibility of a jab being ready by the autumn.

He told the Today programme: 'The real question is will it have efficacy.

'Will it protect people, and that has not been tested and it will only be tested once you have vaccinated a significant number of people and exposed them to the virus and counted how many people have got the virus in that population.

'So, we won't even get a signal for that until May.

'But if things go on course and it does have efficacy, then I think it is reasonable to think that they would be able to complete their trial by mid-August.'

Sir John continued: 'The crucial thing is you have to do a proper trial because safety is really important for these things.

'But if we can see evidence of a strong immune response by the middle or the end of May, then I think the game is on.

'And they may well get across the finish line by mid-August. Then, of course, there is the massive issue of how you manufacture at scale many billions of doses.'

He added: 'They have got a candidate vaccine, which I think went into man for the first time this week after a wide range of safety studies.

'It went into man, I think, on Thursday. It was the first test of testing it in a human being.' 

Oxford University scientists are already manufacturing a million doses of their jab to be available by September because they are confident it will prove successful.

As many as 510 British volunteers could be given the first dose of a potential coronavirus vaccine within the next week, leading researchers say.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates poured scorn on the idea a vaccine could be ready by autumn however. 

The 64-year-old business magnate claimed that - due to a lack of global preparation for the pandemic - it would take some time to create a working treatment. 

And he warned that even with an 18-month timescale, corners would have to be cut as there will be 'less safety testing than we typically would have'. 

Vaccines typically take around five or six years to complete, he said. Due to the ongoing global spread however, the process will have to be fast-tracked. 

He vowed money would be no obstacle to the vaccine and revealed he was happy to keep on donating, saying 'we’ll write cheques faster than governments can.'

He told BBC Breakfast today: 'People like myself are saying 18 months [for a vaccine]. If everything went perfectly we could do slightly better than that. 

'But there will be a trade-off. We’ll have less safety testing than we typically would have. Governments will have to decide.'

He added: 'We’re doing everything we can. We’ll write cheques faster than governments can. It definitely shouldn’t be money limited. It should be all the best constructs full speed ahead.'

Asked how a global vaccine might be found, he said: 'Research will need to fund the ten most promising constructs. Because we won’t know in advance which one will prove to be safe and effective. 

'It has to be effective for older people whose immune system is weak is a huge challenge. If you really amp up the vaccine to do that then you can run in to safety issues.

'So we’re going to have to take something that usually takes five or six years and get it done in 18 months.'

Other leading experts around the world are scrambling to find a vaccine amid fears the infection will return in waves.

Business Secretary Alok Sharma said at the Downing Street press conference last night: 'We cannot put a date on when we will get a vaccine. But, we live in a country with a rich history of pioneering science.

'Producing a vaccine is a colossal undertaking. A complex process which will take many months. There are no guarantees. 

'But the Government is backing our scientists, betting big to maximise the chance of success.'

Scientists at the Oxford University said previously they believed a vaccine could be available for use by the general public in September. 

Sarah Gilbert, a professor of vaccinology at the university, and her team have already created a potential vaccine that is shortly due to begin human trials.   

However, she said there is always an unknown and scientists can never be sure that vaccines are going to work. 

Professor Gilbert has previously said she was 80 per cent confident of the vaccine's success, adding: 'Personally, I have a high degree of confidence.

'This is my view, because I've worked with this technology a lot, and I've worked on the Mers vaccine trials, and I've seen what that can do.

'And, I think, it has a very strong chance of working.' 

Asked when the first dose of the vaccine might be delivered to a trial volunteer, Professor Andrew Pollard, chief Investigator on the study said it depended on when the last part of the testing from the manufacturing had concluded.

However, he added: 'But it should be within the next week or so, but we'll, we'll confirm that as soon as we can.'

Another limiting factors is manufacturing capacity. Professor Adrian Hill, director of the Jenner Institute at Oxford, estimates we will need 'hundreds of millions of doses, ideally by the end of this year' to finally get the pandemic under control. 

The hunt for a coronavirus vaccine - which normally takes one to two years - has been given a boost by the launch of a new Government taskforce.

Led by chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick and deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan van Tam, it will support efforts to rapidly develop a vaccine as soon as possible.

As well as providing industry and research institutions with the resources and support, the group will review regulations to allow quick and safe vaccine trials.

It will also scale up manufacturing, so that when a vaccine becomes available, it can be produced quickly and in mass quantities.

Twenty-one new research projects combating coronavirus will receive Government funding from a £14million investment. This included a trial at Imperial College London for a vaccine. 

This follows the Government's £250million pledge to develop a vaccine.

Representatives from Government, academia and industry will form the taskforce, including Government life sciences champion Sir John Bell, as well as AstraZeneca, and the Wellcome Trust.

Mr Sharma, who announced the taskforce at the daily Downing Street press conference, said: 'UK scientists are working as fast as they can to find a vaccine that fights coronavirus, saving and protecting people's lives.

'We stand firmly behind them in their efforts.

'The vaccine taskforce is key to co-ordinating efforts to rapidly accelerate the development and manufacture of a potential new vaccine, so we can make sure it is widely available to patients as soon as possible.'

The group will focus on five strands of activity including supporting the discovery of potential coronavirus vaccines and preparing the UK for clinical vaccine testing and manufacturing.

It is also working with the Bioindustry Association, which has set up an industry-led group, to accelerate vaccine development and manufacturing.

Sir Patrick said: 'The taskforce will ensure that any potential coronavirus vaccine, when available, can be produced quickly and at scale so it can be made available to the public as quickly as possible.'

One project led by Oxford University will trial an anti-malarial drug to determine whether it could diminish the effects of Covid-19 on people in high risk groups.

Across the UK GP surgeries have been invited to take part in the trial to determine whether it could reduce the need for affected patients to go to hospital and speed up their recovery.

Imperial College London, which is testing a vaccine against coronavirus that aims for the body to produce more protective antibodies, will also receive funding.

Another project is Public Health England's study on how Covid-19 can be transmitted from person to person by determining how long it can survive in the air and on different materials found in hospitals.

Chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty said: 'The UK has some of the best vaccine scientists in the world, but we need to take account of the whole development process.

'This taskforce will ensure the UK can take an end-to-end view.

'This includes funding research, like the recent NIHR/UKRI call, and ensuring manufacturing capability to deliver a Covid-19 vaccination as quickly as possible.'