A day after Israel claimed that it has achieved a ‘significant breakthrough’ in developing an antibody to the coronavirus and has applied for a patent, Italy has claimed that it has developed the world’s first vaccine for the coronavirus(SARS-COV-2) that works on humans, media reports said on EWednesday.
As per the report, the tests have been carried out at Rome’s infectious-disease Spallanzani Hospital and the researchers have effectively managed to generate antibodies in mice that work on human cells.
In this ongoing global pandemic, Italy has been one of the worst affected countries of the coronavirus. With 29,315 deaths, Italy’s total number of cases has reached 2,13,013,where as global cases has reached 3,664,011 including 257,301fatalities, according to data from the Johns Hopkins University.
Israel’s Defence Minister Naftali Bennett informed on Tuesday that country’s Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) has made a “significant breakthrough” in developing an antibody to the novel coronavirus.
Scientists at the country’s main biological research institute have wrapped up the development phase and moved to patent and mass-produce the potential treatment, reports said.
Bennett on Monday visited IIBR that has been mandated to develop a vaccine for coronavirus. He was shown the “antibody that attacks the virus in a monoclonal way and can neutralize it within the bodies of those ill”, a statement from the defence minister’s office said.
In the meantime, a team of US scientists led by US-based Los Alamos National Laboratory (Los Alamos or LANL) have identified that the new strain is more contagious than the virus in early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
