Children and older adults included in vaccine trial

Children and older adults will be included in the second phase of trials for a vaccine to protect against the virus.

The first phase of the University of Oxford’s vaccine trial began in April, studying adults aged 55 and under.

Now more than 10,000 people, including people over 70 and five to 12-year-olds will take part to see the effect on their immune system.

The UK government has announced that if the trial is successful 30 million doses will be available by September.

The government has invested £131m ($159m) in the vaccine and the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has agreed a global licensing deal for it.

But the government has repeatedly said there are no guarantees – and a vaccine could still be some way off.

Most experts still estimate it will take 12 to 18 months to develop and manufacture a vaccine.