Japan gears up to begin clinical tests for vaccine

Japan hopes to conduct clinical tests of a vaccine for the novel coronavirus by the end of June, local media reported, hoping it will be available to the general public as early as spring next year.

According to Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura, the test will initially target 20 to 30 medical workers at Osaka City University Hospital, and is expected to expand to hundreds by October.

"I think it will be the first clinical test (of a coronavirus vaccine) on humans in Japan," Yoshimura said.