First volunteer receives Covid-19 vaccine in London trial

Researchers at Imperial College London said the first injection of the vaccine was a ‘significant milestone’

• 

  Militants of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, wearing protective masks against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spread, march during a rehearsal for the Victory Day Parade in Donetsk, Ukraine. REUTERS

• 

  epa08503091 Peet (R) trains his students surrounded by plastic sheets to ensure social distancing at the Inspire South Bay Fitness gym amid the coronavirus pandemic in Redondo Beach, California. EPA

• 

  Face masks hang from a rope to dry at a house in Bahia Honda, Artemisa province, Cuba, amid the new coronavirus pandemic. Cuba has controlled the pandemic, but its economic income, which is partially used to buy food, was affected by the lack of tourism. The island now faces a food shortage which it is trying to alleviate by increasing local production. AFP

• 

  A health worker remains at the COVID-19 Hospitalization Operational Unit of the Military Field 1, at the National Defense Secretariat in Mexico City. The facility, originally a dormitory for the 6th Mortar Group, was adapted to serve high, medium and low severity COVID-19 patients. AFP

• 

  A view shows shared electric scooters parked in front of the Coliseum monument in Rome, as the country eases its lockdown aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19. With deconfinement and good weather, self-service shared electric scooters have invaded the streets of Rome in recent days, a novelty in the Eternal City, which in turn is discovering the joys and nuisances of new forms of mobility. AFP

• 

  The Uceli Quartet perform for an audience made of plants during a concert created by Spanish artist Eugenio Ampudia and that will be later streamed to mark the reopening of the Liceu Grand Theatre in Barcelona following a national lockdown to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. AFP

• 

  Barber Renan Estate gives a haircut to a child at home as part of his "Delivery Barber" service, as his shop is closed due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in the Complexo do Alemao slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. REUTERS

• 

  Members of the public pray at St Andrew Cathedral as places of worship reopen for private prayers in Glasgow, Scotland. Places of worship reopened in Scotland today, however only for individual prayer that involves physical distancing. Masses and other large scale services are not permitted yet. Getty Images

• 

  Quarantined employees of Toennies meat processing company receive food supplies in the district Suerenheide in Verl. According to media reports, over 1300 Toennies employees at the Rheda-Wiedenbrueck plant have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes the pandemic COVID-19 disease. EPA

• 

  Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio (R) and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas pose for photographers during a bilateral meeting at villa Madama, a sixteenth-century villa seat of representation by the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Italian Republic, Rome, Italy. EPA

The first healthy volunteer has received a dose of a potential Covid-19 vaccine from researchers at Imperial College London.

The anonymous volunteer is reported to be in good health and being closely monitored after being injected on June 19. They will receive a booster within four weeks.

Dr Katrina Pollock, from Imperial’s Department of Infectious Disease and chief investigator of the study, said thousands of volunteers had signed up to be part of the vaccine studies.

"We have reached a significant milestone in this ground-breaking study with the first dose of a self-amplifying RNA vaccine delivered safely,” she said.

"We are now poised to test the vaccine in the dose evaluation phase before moving forward to evaluating it in larger numbers.”

Several other people are expected to receive the vaccination in the next few days. In the coming weeks, if the vaccine is safe and shows promise, another 300 participants will received two doses.

"We now eagerly await rapid recruitment to the trial so that we can assess both the safety of the vaccine and its ability to produce neutralising antibodies, which would indicate an effective response against Covid-19. I look forward to our progress in the coming months,” said Professor Robin Shattock from the Department of Infectious Disease at Imperial.

The vaccine is being supported with £41 million (£189m) in funding from the UK government and £5m (Dh23m) in charitable donations.

Another vaccine is being developed at Oxford University with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.

A vial with potential vaccine for the coronavirus disease is pictured at the Imperial College London. Reuters.