On Jun. 28, 2021, the University of Oxford in partnership with AstraZeneca began vaccinations for a new phase in human trials to test a COVID-19 vaccine ﾑAZD2816ﾒ in volunteers against the B.1.351 variant of concern ﾖ commonly known as the Beta variant. The Phase II/III trial, sponsored and led by AstraZeneca will recruit approximately 2,250 participants across UK, South Africa, Brazil and Poland.