By mid-2021, volunteers aged between 18 and 75 years will be recruited for an accelerated clinical trial of two ‘next generation’ vaccines against COVID-19, developed by researchers at the University of Melbourne in Australia.

These clinical trials are among six chosen to receive immediate funding totalling
$10.1 million from the Morrison Government’s Medical Research Future Fund’s Clinical Trials Activity Initiative.

These vaccines offer a number of potential advantages to ‘first generation’ COVID-19 vaccines, and do not require storage in the extremely low temperatures needed for the Pfizer vaccine.

Following encouraging results during preclinical testing, the government’s support is expediting the process to move research efforts from the lab and into human trials.

Among the other proposals to be tested are the use of germicidal ultraviolet light to reduce infection rates in aged care facilities, and 3D-printed face masks to match facial shape and prevent leaks.