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Kenya Launches Human Trials of COVID-19 Vaccine

Lenny Ruvaga

   NAIROBI - About forty volunteers, mostly front-line health workers, are
   participating in COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials in Kenya.

   The trial phase of the vaccine, developed by the University of Oxford
   in partnership with the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, is being
   conducted by the KEMRI-Welcome Trust Research program based in Kilifi.

   KEMRI's Dr. Samuel Sang said researchers are trying to determine if the
   vaccine, known as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, is safe for Kenyans.

   "Vaccines which have been found to work and are safe in one population
   [may not] work across populations," Sang said. Therefore, he said,
   there's a need to to assess whether the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 is safe and
   works among the Kenyan volunteers.

   Sang said the vaccine was being tested for both safety and impact.

   "Our expectation is to assess whether ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 is safe,
   effective and elicits a good immune response in adults above the age of
   18 years," he said.

   According to the World Health Organization, there are about 100
   COVID-19 vaccines currently under the human trial phase of development.

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