Australia to host first human vaccine trials

More than 100 volunteers in Melbourne and Brisbane have been lined up to take part in the first phase of a human trial of a potential coronavirus vaccine.

The southern hemisphere's first human trials of a potential coronavirus vaccine have started in Melbourne Source: Getty Images

The first Australian human trials of a coronavirus vaccine are about to kick off with more than 100 volunteers.

The trials, which are being overseen by US biotechnology company Novavax, will take place in Melbourne and Brisbane with 131 healthy adults aged between 18 and 59 years.

Infectious diseases expert Dr Paul Griffin from Brisbane's Mater Health Services is one of the researchers overseeing the phase one clinical trials, which are the first step in human testing.

"It is very exciting," he told Nine's Today show on Tuesday.