Israeli Institute Completes Coronavirus Vaccine Trial on Rodents

Israel’s Institute for Biological Research (IIBR) has completed testing a coronavirus vaccine on rodents and will soon begin experiments on other animals. During the trial, scientists administered the vaccine to half of the sample size before infecting the entire group with SARS-CoV-2. Those rodents that received the vaccine remained healthy, whereas the others contracted the virus. If subsequent trials go according to plan, the vaccine could be ready for use on humans within a year. The highly secretive institute, which reports directly to the Prime Minister’s Office and works in conjunction with the Defense Ministry, is also working on a treatment for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. This weekend, Israeli officials revealed that IIBR had filed patents for eight types of coronavirus antibodies, which will be used to develop a cure. According to The Jerusalem Post, Israeli scientists at the Galilee Research Institute are working in parallel to modify an existing bronchitis vaccine that could be used to prevent people from contracting the coronavirus. The team is expected to start human trials at the beginning of next month. Israel has averaged about a dozen new cases of COVID-19 over the past 10 days, thereby allowing the government to move ahead with plans to completely re-open the economy while lifting all restrictions on freedom of movement by the middle of next month. Discussions are already underway in Israel to resume commercial air travel for leisure purposes sometime in July.