Human trials of an eagerly-awaited vaccine, developed by the prestigious Oxford University, against the novel coronavirus began in the UK on Thursday, with scientists giving it an 80 per cent chance of success.

The United Kingdom government has pledged £20 million to support the “ChAdOx1 nCoV-19” coronavirus vaccine trial programme, with UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock saying the government would “throw everything at” finding a vaccine against the deadly virus.

“After all, the upside of being the first country in the world to develop a successful vaccine is so huge that I am throwing everything at it,” he said.