The first doses of an experimental coronavirus vaccine will be given out to human volunteers this Thursday, according to Government officiala after doctors finding the cure.
The Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that a potential jab which has been developed by Oxford University will begin to be tested in just two days.
"The upside of being the first country in the world to develop a successful vaccine is so huge that I am throwing everything at it," he said. It comes as the number of hospital deaths from coronavirus in the UK has risen by 823 to 17,337 people.
He also announced a boost of £20million to fund the clinical trials, as well as £22.5 million to Imperial College London for its vaccine research.
Speaking at the Downing Street press briefing this evening, Mr Hancock said: "I can announce that the vaccine from the Oxford project will be trialled in people from this Thursday," he said.
"At the same time, we will invest in manufacturing capability so that if either of these vaccines safely work, we can make it available for the British people as soon as humanely possible."
He also said the process for finding a vaccine would take "trial and error" but he has told UK scientists leading the search he would "back them to the hilt and give them every resource they need" in order to succeed.
"After all, the upside of being the first country in the world to develop a successful vaccine is so huge that I am throwing everything at it," said Mr Hancock.
