Covid vaccine trial in Blackpool marks major milestone - as top boffin says disease is unlikely to be eradicated like Smallpox

Around 2,500 people put their name forward to take part in the study, which got underway at Layton Medical Centre late last month, after 500 were urged to sign up.

Dr Rebecca Clark from the centre, in Kingcote Drive, where special clinics are being held on Mondays, Wednesdays, and weekends, said medics are now on the "home straight" of the first round of recruitment.

The phase three trial, run by US biotech firm Novavax, signifies the last testing hurdle before the jab can be officially classed as safe and effective.

It is 'double-blind', which means volunteers - as well as docs - won't know if they have been given the potential vaccine or a saltwater placebo.

Participants, including Blackpool's director of public health Dr Arif Rajpura, have committed to at least six visits over the course of around 13 months for antibody tests and to see if they've contracted Covid-19.

A total of 10,000 volunteers across the UK are being invited to take part, with the first enrolled in Layton, it was revealed earlier this month.

Dr Rajpura said: "The clear way out of the current situation we find ourselves in is to develop a safe and effective Covid-19 vaccine and, to that end, I was delighted to be participating in this really important piece of research."

The study is also underway at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, with Dr Angela Parker from the Vic's Patient Recruitment Centre saying: "It takes a huge amount of effort to conduct a study of this size and at this pace, and I am extremely proud of what we have achieved so far."

The Government has already ordered 60 million doses of the possible vaccine, which will be made in County Durham if the trial, which is taking place at 18 sites, including in Greater Manchester, London, Glasgow, and Belfast, is a success.

A vaccine is seen by many as the only way out of the current crisis, which has closed more than one million lives around the world, including 264 on the Fylde coast.

But the Government's chief scientific adviser said it was "unlikely" a vaccine will stop the disease completely.

Sir Patrick Vallance said only one disease, Smallpox, had ever been eradicated.

He said treating Covid-19 may instead become more like seasonal flu.

Sir Patrick said that, over the next few months, it will become clear whether there are any vaccines that do protect, and how long for.

He added that, while a number of candidates cause an immune response, only phase three trials will indicate whether they stop people from being infected.

There are a number of potential vaccines being trialled, but none are expected to be ready until 2021.

Test subjects could be exposed to the new coronavirus in controlled settings from January in a bid to speed up vaccine development, officials confirmed.

Young and healthy participants aged 18 to 30 would be given a vaccine candidate before being exposed to Covid, with results due in May.

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