VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

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A team of scientists at Oxford University say they've reached an “important milestone” in their work to develop a vaccine for coronavirus. Following early trials on thousands of people, they say the vaccine they're developing appears to be safe and does trigger an immune response. The UK government has already ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine. But while the findings are promising the experts say it's still too soon to know how much protection it offers and larger trials are now under way. The UK government has secured early access to millions of doses of potential Covid-19 vaccines that are being prepared by medical researchers. Vaccines to protect people from the coronavirus are being developed both in the UK and around the world. The latest results from the Oxford trial are that the vaccine appears safe and triggers an immune response. Trials involving 1,077 people showed the injection led to them making antibodies and T-cells, the body's natural way of fighting disease, that can fight coronavirus. The findings are hugely promising, but there are some side-effects and it is still too soon to know if this is enough to offer protection, so larger trials are under way. During the interview by bbc on Tuesday (21/27/20) in London, the lead investigator of Oxford university, Professor Andrew Pollard said that he is pleased for the trial result but they still need to do more research on it.

“…We really pleased with the results that published today because we seeing both neutralizing antibody responses and T-cell responses. That we are optimistic maybe associated with protection but we still need to conduct those trials to prove that case in human.” Professor Pollard said. 

Making a vaccine, and having it ready to give to people take a long time and though none is ready at the moment, the government has put in an early order to get them as soon as they are available. The UK National Health Service says that vaccines are the most effective way to prevent infectious diseases. They explained that vaccines teach your immune system how to create antibodies that protect you from diseases. On the other hand, a virologist, st. George, University of London, Dr. Elisabetta Gropelli said that researchers still have a lot of work to do more trials because there’s still failing possibility.

“…This is very good and very promising to start with, however we have seen vaccine reaching this point and also failing so we need to be a little bit careful and not quite pop it in public sector, just yet.” Dr. Gropelli said. 

The order would be enough to vaccinate people in priority groups across the whole of the UK, such as frontline health and social care workers and those with a higher health risk. Even when they are ready, some people won't be able to take vaccines because of other health issues, so the government has also ordered alternative treatments that could be used instead. However, as the vaccines aren't ready yet and it's not clear how well they'll work. (NK/bbc)

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Oman will ban travel between all its governorates from July 25 to Aug. 8, a period that includes a Muslim holiday, to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus, state news agency ONA said on Tuesday. A statement from the Health Ministry described the measure as a total lockdown of all governorates. The Gulf state will also implement a daily curfew from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. during the period, which includes the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday period. Shops and public spaces will be closed during the hours of curfew//JP

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Passengers of China-bound flights must provide negative COVID-19 test results before boarding, China's aviation authority said on Tuesday, as the government looks to further reduce the risk of imported coronavirus cases amid increased international travel. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said on its website that nucleic acid tests must be completed within five days of embarkation. The tests should be conducted at facilities designated or recognized by Chinese embassies in host countries. The embassies will carefully assess the testing capacity of host countries and formulate travel procedures when testing conditions are met. The announcement comes as countries struggle with testing capacity and speed. In parts of the United States, receipt of test results can take up to two weeks, while in some other countries, nucleic acid tests are reserved for people who have come in close contact with COVID-19 patients or who have symptoms of the potentially fatal disease//JP

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South Korea's first-ever military communications satellite has been successfully launched by private operator SpaceX, Seoul said Tuesday, as it looks to build up its defense capabilities. Seoul's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said in a statement that a Falcon 9 rocket carrying the satellite blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. SpaceX confirmed the satellite deployed about 32 minutes after lift-off, on Monday afternoon local time. Seoul's Defense Acquisition Program Administration -DAPA said the launch made South Korea the 10th country in the world to own a military-only communications satellite, which will provide permanent and secured military communications. According to the statement, the satellite is expected to reach its orbit of 36,000 kilometers in two weeks and South Korea's military will take over the system in October after testing//JP