Will Chalk

speaker

5,182 appearances 37 recordings 3 series first heard Nov 2025 last heard 5d ago

Will Chalk’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

Trend

recordings per month · last 12 months

Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 37 in all, peaking in Aug 2026 with 6.

Appearances

newest first · ▶ plays the moment

Global News Podcast · First human trial of experimental Ebola vaccine · 24 Jul 2026 podcast

Today, someone had the first ever dose of the experimental vaccine. matched

That's fine. matched

Thank you. matched

The BBC's medical editor, Fergus Walsh, was in Oxford for the event. matched

He began by telling me about that first volunteer who we just heard in that clip. matched

So the volunteer is a man called Ed Hunt. matched

He's 37 and he volunteered after he saw news reports of what's happening in the Democratic Republic of Congo. matched

In fact, he told me he'd wanted to volunteer for the COVID vaccine trials, but he wasn't able to at the time. matched

So he's had his name down, as it were. matched

And he's one of 50 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 55 who are currently being recruited for this trial in Oxford. matched

They'll all receive one dose of the experimental Ebola vaccine, which is against the Bundibuja species of Ebola, for which there is no vaccine at the moment. matched

If it works then, and if this is successful, how quickly can the help then get to the people who need it in the DRC? matched

So what will happen pretty soon is a similar smallish trial will begin in Uganda where people will be immunised. matched

And those vaccine trials currently are to look primarily at safety. matched

But if they're successful, they will then expand the trial in DR Congo and that will be in the affected areas. matched

Now, what they're doing as well as monitoring the safety of the vaccine is they're checking for immune responses. matched

Obviously, none of the volunteers will be given Ebola. matched

But if the jab produces a very strong immune response, which they're hoping it will, then it can be used actually to protect people who may be contacts of Ebola patients within a matter of months. matched

And indeed, the Serum Institute, the biggest vaccine manufacturer in the world, has produced 600,000 doses already. matched

of this Oxford Ebola vaccine, which are waiting in the wings should the trials prove successful. matched

Showing 1221–1240 of 5,182 · page 62 of 260