come at a better time, as experts believe that it could be adjusted to fight off aggressive new variants of the virus.
The vaccine was developed by researchers at the Monash University, together with pharmaceutical company IDT Australia and the Doherty Institute, a research and teaching centre in Melbourne. About 450 doses of the vaccine candidate have been produced so far, which will be utilised in phase one trials involving 150 people. It will begin in January 2022, with results expected later in the year. The vaccine will only be rolled out if it passes three stages of clinical trials and the data is approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, which means it may take years before it reaches the public.
While this the first COVID-19 developed by Australia, it is also the first mRNA vaccine of any kind in the Pacific nation. The development was celebrated by Victoria’s innovation minister Jaala Pulford, who described it as a “significant milestone”. “Australia has manufactured for trial our first Covid-19 mNRA vaccine, this is also Australia’s first mRNA product that has been manufactured,” she said on Tuesday (30 Nov). “We are the only place in this country that has the capacity in pharmaceutical manufacturing, but also in scientific development, to do this.”
