Australia’s national science agency said on Thursday (April 2) it has begun the first stage of testing potential vaccines for Covid-19 as it joins a global race to halt the coronavirus pandemic.
Pre-clinical testing by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (Csiro), comprising injecting ferrets with two potential vaccines, was under way at its high-containment biosecurity facility near Melbourne.
Dr Grenfell said scientists were working at a “remarkable” pace, reaching the pre-clinical testing stage in about eight weeks, a process that usually takes up to two years.