An opinion piece in Nature has called on scientists not to skip testing in animal models and maintain safety checks in the development of coronavirus drugs.
Prof Shibo Jiang, a virologist at the School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, China, and at the New York Blood Center, USA, gave the reminder that vaccines for measles, polio and influenza all met the requirements of regulators and the same should follow for Covid19.
His remarks came as Moderna Therapeutics, a US biotechnology company, began the first human trials of a potential Covid-19 vaccine without testing for any immune response in animals.
“Testing vaccines and medicines without taking the time to fully understand safety risks could bring unwarranted setbacks during the current pandemic, and into the future.” Prof Jiang said.