Researches around the world are desperately competing to be the first to find a miracle vaccine for coronavirus – which has infected more than 3.2 million people globally and killed more than 220,000 others. British scientists at the University of Oxford are currently at an advanced stage and have conducted human trials last week.

Dr Jeremy Rossman Senior Lecturer in Virology at the University of Kent, has warned the availability of a vaccine for British patients will depend on where it is made and how much it would cost.

Dr Rosmann has conceded the high level of demand could cause distribution problems and require a close working relationship with other nations.

He told Express.co.uk: “As for the vaccine queue, this is a very big area of debate.

“Partly this will depend on which country developed the vaccine and who paid for it.

“However, the actual distribution will be much more complicated and will likely require extensive collaboration and partnership between countries.”

The virus expert has insisted it could take up to one year before a vaccine is readily available and stated it would be limited to the most vulnerable groups.

Dr Rossman added: “At the start the vaccine will likely be given to the people at the greatest risk.

“This could be healthcare workers and high-risk individuals in the UK, but this could also be those same groups in whichever countries do not have their outbreaks under control yet.

“It will likely be 12 months before even the first doses are ready and no one can predict what the pandemic will look like at that stage.

“We need to prepare but we also need to prepare to adapt.”

This afternoon the UK was given a major boost after researchers at Oxford University announced a partnership pharmaceutical giant AstraZenenca.

The Government has pumped £20 million into the research project and human trials began last Thursday.

Professor Sir John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University, said results from the trial could be available by mid-June.

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It is hoped the deal with the Cambridge-based drug firm will allow large-scale distribution of a potential vaccine.

Sir John said “We also want to make sure that the rest of the world will be ready to make this vaccine at scale so that it gets to populations in developing countries, for example, where the need is very great.

“We really need a partner to do that and that partner has a big job in the UK because our manufacturing capacity in the UK for vaccines isn’t where it needs to be, and so we are going to work together with AstraZeneca to improve that considerably.”

Health Secretary Matt Hancock praised the collaboration but acknowledged the move provides no guarantees of success, however insisted the move gives the UK the best chance to find a cure.

Mr Hancock said: “The Oxford vaccine is one of the most advanced in the world. Bringing together the best British science and the best of British business will give us the best possible shot at a vaccine

“The science is uncertain, and no vaccine may work, but this deal gives the UK the best chance we can of a breakthrough that could defeat this awful virus.

“I’m sending best wishes for good fortune to all involved – for the sake of the nation and indeed the whole world.”

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