Aussie to 'walk in faith' in vaccine trial

An Australian man who is testing a potential coronavirus vaccine in the UK says he is taking a "walk in faith".

Dr Edward O'Neill was one of the first two people injected as part of trials for a potential vaccine that has been developed by Oxford University.

The Sydney man, who's been researching radiation oncology at the university for two years, joined the trial because he wants to help the world beat COVID-19 faster.

"It just seems like the right thing to do, to ensure that we can combat this disease a little and get over it a lot faster," Dr O'Neill said.

His wife knew he was taking the injection and wanted to join the trial too but was unable as she's breastfeeding their son.

Dr O'Neill has not been told whether he's been given the trial vaccine or if he's part of the control group.

When asked if he had any concerns about safety, he said he would "walk in faith" and trust his fellow scientists.

"You can never fully exclude any potential risk, but I think you have to walk in faith with these things, you have trust that the work is being done (by scientists) as best as they can and know that the cause is important," Dr O'Neill said.

The Australian admitted that as a researcher himself, he would also get a chance to gain a unique perspective on a scientific study.

"It's important for myself to know what the other end of a clinical study looks like as well," Dr O'Neill said.

"So it's been informative for me as well."

Scientists across the globe are rushing to develop a treatment or vaccine for the fast-spreading coronavirus that has killed more than 191,000 people and ravaged financial markets.