Israeli COVID Vaccine to Begin Human Testing This Fall

Stand for Israel | August 6, 2020

Benny Gantz looks at COVID research at Israel's Institute for Biological Research

Those of us who stand for Israel know that the Jewish state is always at the forefront of technology and innovation. And now that Israeli ingenuity is taking on COVID-19, for the benefit of Israelis and the rest of the world, all still battling the coronavirus pandemic. The Times of Israel’s Judah Ari Gross reports that Israeli researchers hope to begin human testing for a COVID vaccine by mid-October:

According to the defense minister, initial tests of the vaccine have been promising, allowing for human trials.
“We should begin tests on people after the Tishrei holidays,” Gantz said, referring to the Hebrew month in which the Jewish High Holidays take place, the last of which ends on October 10. “This will be done in coordination with the Health Ministry and according to the protocols needed in terms of medical safety.”
The director of the Institute for Biological Research, Prof. Shmuel Shapira, said he believed that the vaccine would be successful.
“We have a terrific vaccine. There are regulatory processes that the vaccine needs to go through in order to meet the timetable you laid out. We are starting after the Tishrei holidays with safety and efficiency tests, but we have the product in our hands,” Shapira said…