French govt expects COVID-19 vaccines to be available by end of 2020

While nations across the globe are racing to develop the COVID-19 vaccine, a presentation by French Health Minister Olivier Veran reportedly suggested on August 27 that new vaccines for the novel coronavirus infection could be available by the end of 2020 or beginning of 2021. With several vaccines developed by leading pharmaceuticals companies are in their final stages of human trials, French Prime Minister Jean Castex has also said that the government must ramp-up its speed to deal with the fresh wave of COVID-19 pandemic. 

This came as the spread of SARS-CoV-19 in the nation recently started escalating and COVID-19 cases surged in Paris, that too, among young people. Castex even urged France "not to let down its guard" in its battle against the novel coronavirus to prevent a fresh lockdown. French PM reportedly said that the virus has not gone on a holiday and therefore the fight against the virus should not stop. He noted the need for government officials to protect the citizens from COVID-19 and asked every citizen to be “very vigilant”. 

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Antibody Treatment For COVID-19

Meanwhile, UK pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has started phase one clinical trial of antibody-based cocktail for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 on Tuesday, August 25. In a statement, the British drugmaker said that the first participants have been injected with the doses of AZD7442 which is a combination of two monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to treat the disease caused by SARS-CoV-19. This comes after AstraZeneca-developed COVID-19 vaccine candidate showed promising results and is already planning human trials on a larger scale. 

The London-based firm has emerged as one of the leading players in the global hunt for COVID-19 vaccine and a viable treatment to cure the disease. The phase one trial dubbed as, NCT04507256 is aimed at evaluating the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of AZD7442 and the Brutish drugmaker has touted it as a potential treatment for people exposed to the novel coronavirus.

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