On Jan. 19, 2021, ImmunityBio announced it had received authorization from the South Africa Health Products Regulatory Authority to begin a Phase I clinical trial of its hAd5 T-cell vaccine, the companyﾒs novel COVID-19 vaccine candidate, which will be administered subcutaneously.

The same vaccine was being tested in a similar Phase I trial in the U.S., with no safety concerns identified to date. With the goal of creating longer-term protection from the virus.