Oxford University and AstraZeneca have begun testing in volunteers a vaccine against the Beta variant of the new coronavirus, detected in South Africa, it was announced this Sunday.

In a statement, Oxford said that 2,250 participants will be recruited in the UK, South Africa, Brazil, and Poland for phases II and III of the human clinical trial, with data to be revealed later this year.
"Testing booster doses of existing vaccines as well as vaccines against the new variants is important to ensure that we are as well prepared as possible to be ahead of the covid-19 pandemic," said Oxford Vaccine Group director Andrew Pollard.
The covid-19 pandemic has claimed more than 3.9 million victims worldwide, resulting from nearly 180 million officially diagnosed cases of infection, according to the French agency AFP.