The vaccine – called ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 – is being developed at unprecedented speed. It is made from a genetically engineered virus that causes the common cold in chimpanzees. It has been heavily modified, first so it cannot cause infections in people and also to make it “look” more like coronavirus. Scientists did this by transferring the genetic instructions for the coronavirus’s “spike protein” – the crucial tool it uses to invade our cells – to the vaccine they were developing. This means the vaccine resembles the coronavirus and the immune system can learn how to attack it.
Scientists at Oxford University said their experimental coronavirus vaccine has been shown in an early trial to prompt a protective immune response in hundreds of people who got the shot. Several banks in Hong Kong closed branches or curtailed their working hours on Monday after a spike in the number of new coronavirus cases over the weekend. US President Donald Trump has insisted that the coronavirus will be brought “under control” even as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported at least 67,574 new cases and at least 877 more deaths in the country.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro ventured out of his official residence, Alvorada Palace, on Sunday to speak and greet his supporters even as he recovers from COVID-19.
The number of deaths from the coronavirus around the world has surpassed 608,300, with the US the worst-affected country. There are more than 14.5 million confirmed cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.