London - Britain is in talks to buy a
coronavirus antibody test that could be a game changer if it
works and already scientists are making progress in finding
medicines that can fight the disease, Prime Minister Boris
Johnson said on Thursday.
"We are in negotiations today to buy a so-called antibody
test, as simple as a pregnancy test, that can tell whether you
have had the disease," Johnson told a news conference.
"It is early days but if it works as its proponents claim,
then we will buy literally hundreds of thousands of these kits
as soon as practicable because obviously it has the potential to
be a total game changer," he added.
Johnson also said scientists were making headway in removing
the "cloak of invisibility" that surrounds the virus to fully
understand its workings.
"Today we've put the first British corona patient into a
randomised trial for drugs that may treat the disease. UK
experts, scientists expect to start trials for the first vaccine
within a month," Johnson said.
"This is rapidly coming down the track, but it will take
time to come on stream," he said of the scientific advancements.