A resident from the Soweto, south of here, has become the first South African to be injected with a trial vaccine for Covid-19

Johannesburg: A resident from the Soweto, south of here, has become the first South African to be injected with a trial vaccine for Covid-19 as scientists seek a treatment for the virus which has infected millions and killed hundreds of thousands across the globe.

Mhlongo (24), is one of about 2,000 South Africans who will take part in the international study after the potential vaccine was developed at the Oxford Jenner Institute in the UK.

CoronavirusOfficially known as the Ox1Cov-19 Vaccine VIDA-trial, the South African component of the trial is also a first for the African continent.

Amid the optimism, experts pointed out that the vaccine being tested is one among the more than 100 that are currently being researched all over the world.

CoronavirusIn South Africa, at least 1,00,000 people have been diagnosed with Covid-19 and more than 2,000 have died from virus since March when the President declared a state of disaster and national lockdown which is continuing at Level 3 of a five-level strategic approach to fight the pandemic.

There has been much debate internationally, including at the World Health Organisation, that the vaccine, when it is found, be made available to all countries at low or even no cost to developing countries, and not only be sold in rich and developed nations only.