Germany has authorised its first clinical test of a vaccine for the novel coronavirus, the country's regulatory body said, green-lighting trials on human volunteers for an RNA vaccine developed by German firm Biontech and US giant Pfizer, AFP reported.

“The Paul-Ehrlich Institute [...] has authorised the first clinical trial of a vaccine against Covid-19 in Germany,” the regulatory body said in a statement.

It added that approval was the “result of a careful assessment of the potential risk/benefit profile of the vaccine candidate”.