Israel starts human trials on COVID-19 vaccine as schools slowly reopen

Israel began human trials on Sunday for its COVID-19 vaccine candidate which, if successful, could be ready for the general public by the end of next summer. Two volunteers, one at Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv and another at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, received the vaccine on Sunday.

One of the two, 34-year-old Aner Ottolenghi encouraged as many healthy people as possible to volunteer, according to a statement from Hadassah.

The Israeli trial is one of around 40 “vaccine candidates” being tested worldwide, according to the World Health Organization ( WHO).

Eighty volunteers will initially take part in the trial that will be expanded to 960 people in December. Should those trials succeed a third stage with 30,000 volunteers is scheduled for April/ May.

“We are in the final stretch,” said Shmuel Shapira, director general of the Israel Institute for Biological Research.

The institute, which is overseen by the Defense Ministry, began animal trials for its “BriLife” vaccine in March and announced a week ago it had received regulatory approval to take it to the next stage. Shmuel Yitzhaki, head of the institute’s biology division, told

Reuters that if all goes well the vaccine could reach the general population by the end of next summer.

While the first batch of volunteers received the potential vaccine, around the country elementary students returned to school as a second nationwide lockdown comes to a gradual end. The trial start in Israel coincided with a reduction in lockdown restrictions.

After a peak of more than 10,000 cases per day in September — then

The Israeli trial is one of around 40 ‘vaccine candidates’ being tested worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.

the highest infection rate per capita in the world — the number of cases in Israel has fallen below a thousand a day, according to official data. On Sunday, primary school children were allowed to return to class.

First through fourth graders were the first to return to school. Older kids are still learning from home. The government also approved the reopening in stages of businesses and recreational activities. The country reported 674 new cases on Friday — down from a peak of more than 9,000 several weeks ago.