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 Rome's Lazzaro Spallanzani institute, a hospital specializing in
infectious diseases will conduct trials on 90 volunteers over the
coming weeks, with the hope a vaccine may be available by spring of
next year.
Francesco Vaia, health director of the Spallanzani hospital, told
Reuters the first patient will be monitored for four hours before
being allowed to go home where he will be kept under observation for
12 weeks.
"We will see if it produces any side effects and if it produces
neutralizing antibodies," Vaia said, adding the second phase of
testing will take place in countries with higher infection rates,
like Mexico and Brazil.
"If we are able to be fast, we will have the first shots on the
market next spring," Vaia added.
The potential vaccine, called GRAd-COV2, was developed by ReiThera,
a company based in Rome. The Lazio region, around the Italian
capital, said in a statement early trials, including on animals, had
delivered positive results.
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Potential vaccines are undergoing trials in a number of different countries
including India, Britain, Russia and China, as scientists have raced to unpick
the secrets of a virus that emerged less than a year ago.
"Our country's minds and research are at the service of the global challenge to
defeat COVID," Health Minister Roberto Speranza wrote on Facebook announcing the
start of the trial.
Italy, one of Europe's worst-hit countries with more than 35,000 deaths, saw the
epidemic peak between March and April before the outbreak appeared to be on the
retreat. But it has since seen a surge in new cases with more than 1,000
recorded on both Saturday and Sunday.
Other countries in Europe have seen even bigger jumps as tight restrictions and
social distancing measures imposed earlier in the year have been eased.
(Reporting by Yara Nardi; writing by Angelo Amante, Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
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