The much talked about Oxford University's vaccine trial to treat coronavirus patients has only a 50% chance of success because of low community transmission of COVID-19 in Britain.
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There are nearly 224 vaccines in development in various countries and institutes around the world where Oxford University's vaccine is considered among the leaders in the race.
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However, Prof Adrian Hill, director of the university's Jenner Institute, said an upcoming Oxford vaccine trial, involving 10,000 volunteers, threatened to return "no result" due to low transmission of COVID-19 in the community, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
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Given the declining rate of COVID-19, Prof Hill said that his team now faced a major hurdle, in coming up with a vaccine in the set deadline of September.
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"It is a race, yes. But it is not a race against the other guys. It is a race against the virus disappearing, and against time," he said. "At the moment, there's a 50 per cent chance that we get no result at all."
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"We are in the bizarre position of wanting COVID to stay, at least for a little while. But cases are declining," added Prof Hill as quoted by The Sydney Morning Herald.
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Despite certain apprehensions, countries across the globe are rushing their vaccine projects, and some including China and the US have even announced a tentative date.
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