The drug is made by AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical company that worked with Oxford University in the UK to develop a general vaccine.

An initial 1,000 people will be administered the drug in the UK this weekend, while 4,000 others from around the world will take part in the trials soon after.

He added: “Now that’s important because obviously there’s going to be a significant number of people, even in a world where vaccines are highly effective, that will not respond to vaccines, or in fact will not take vaccines, and so having monoclonal antibodies as potential therapeutics I think is also important.”.

Kate Bingham, chair of the UK Vaccine Taskforce, said hundreds of thousands of people might not benefit from a vaccine because they do not have a working immune system.

“We particularly need to ensure those who cannot be given a vaccine, such as people who are immuno-compromised, have alternatives available that will help protect them.”.