£46m of aid cash to fight coronavirus
BORIS Johnson yesterday pledged to use £46million of foreign aid cash to help beat the coronavirus.
The international development budget money will pay for research into a vaccine and rapid diagnostic tests.
At the moment, it can take several days to diagnose the virus as the only available tests require samples to be sent to a lab. The Prime Minister yesterday visited a research facility in Bedfordshire that is hoping to develop a test people could use at home.
It could give results within minutes, in the same way as a pregnancy home-testing kit, using either a swab of saliva or a pin-prick of blood.
This would mean patients could receive treatment more quickly at home, reducing the risk of them passing the virus to others by going outdoors.
Any rapid diagnostic test could also be sent to countries with no lab capability or whose medical facilities are not as advanced.
There is currently no vaccine available to protect people against Covid- 19, but Mr Johnson said he hoped one will be ready in about a year.
England’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty has previously said the UK ‘will not have a vaccine available for the first wave’ of a pandemic, but it is still important to develop one for any future waves. Global human trials of eight possible vaccines could start later this year. But firms would then face the task of mass-producing and distributing them. The package announced by Mr Johnson comes under the ‘research’ phase of the Government’s plan to contain, delay, mitigate and research coronavirus.
Downing Street said the UK’s investment into Covid19 vaccine research is now worth £65million, with £91million in total for international work to stop the spread of the virus. Mr Johnson yesterday warned there will be a ‘substantial period of disruption’ as the country deals with the spread of the virus.
He insisted: ‘Keeping the British people safe is my No1 priority and that’s why I’ve set out our four-part plan to contain, delay, mitigate and research coronavirus.
‘We are ensuring the country is prepared for the current outbreak, guided by the science at every stage. But we also need to invest now in researching the vaccines that could help prevent future outbreaks. I’m very proud that UK experts – backed by Government funding – are on the frontline of global efforts to do just that.’
He added: ‘What we are announcing today is a £46million package of investment in UK science which will in time deliver a vaccine – some say in about a year – but also help us to have rapid test kits that anyone can use quickly and effectively to tell whether they have coronavirus.’
The Prime Minister stressed developing a vaccine or rapid test for the virus would be ‘life-changing and life-saving’.
The Government’s Chief Scientific Officer Sir Patrick Vallance said: ‘The UK has some of the world’s leading scientists – and this money will help in our fight to tackle this new disease.’
‘Vaccine ready in a year’