A clinical test of a Covid-19 vaccine in Germany has been approved, according to the country’s Federal Institute for Vaccines.
The trial will see 200 healthy participants between the age of 18 and 55 receive several variants of the vaccine, developed by German biotech company BioNTech, as scientists examine its efficacy in providing immunity against the virus.
Additional tests will be conducted on more people, including those at higher risk from the disease, in a second stage.
The race is on to develop a vaccine that will help contain the spread of coronavirus, which has so far killed more than 177,000 people and infected 2.5 million, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.
There are 86 teams across the world currently working to develop a Covid-19 vaccine, including a handful at the clinical trial stage.
Germany follows the UK in approving a human trial after health secretary Matt Hancock announced scientists at Oxford University will begin testing a vaccine on people this Thursday.
Around 500 volunteers are expected to enrol in the programme by mid-May, with the British government pledging £20m to the research.
