A coronavirus vaccine in pill form could enter the first phases of clinical trials by June this year, with Oravax being the company working on the substance.

The company reiterated that this step is an early phase in the development of the vaccine, and even if it clears clinical trials, there could be a year's wait until it is formally authorised for use.

Oral vaccines have been assessed for "second generation" vaccines, which are designed to be more scalable, easier to administer and simpler to distribute.

Oravax is a joint venture constituting two firms: the Israeli-American company known as Oramed and the Indian company Premas Biotech.

According to Nadav Kidron, CEO of Oramed, an oral vaccine could "potentially [enable] people to take the vaccine themselves at home", adding that the vaccine can be shipped in a normal refrigerator and stored at room temperature, "making it logistically easier to get it anywhere around the world".

Oral vaccines are also seen to be useful to people who are severely needle-phobic and may be more rapid to administer, especially avoiding risk of infections.

Other types of second-generation vaccines are also being investigated, such as vaccines delivered by a spray through the nose, or through patches.