Health Secretary Matt Hancock has revealed that human trials on a coronavirus vaccine will begin on Thursday.
The treatment, developed in Oxford, will be tested on humans in days while a second vaccine research project is also making progress at Imperial College, London.
Mr Hancock said: "The best way to beat coronavirus is through a vaccine. "The vaccine from the Oxford project will be trialled in people from this Thursday.
"In normal times, reaching this stage would take years."
Both the Oxford and Imperial College projects were receiving government funding, he said. And the UK is investing in manufacturing capacity "so that if either of these vaccines safely works then we can make it available for the Britsh people as soon as humanely possible," said Mr Hancock, speaking at the daily Downing Street press conference.
He said there was no certainty either project would develop a working vaccine but the Government would "back them to the hilt and give them every resource they need to get the best possible chance of success as soon as possible.
"After all, the upisde of being the first country in the world to develop a successful vaccine is so huge that I am throwing everything at it."
