Oxford COVID-19 vaccine human trial shows vaccine is ‘safe, well-tolerated and immunogenic’

According to a report published in British medical journal Lancet,the human trial of COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by the University of Oxford and backed by AstraZeneca Plc has shown a positive result. Officially known as AZD1222, the vaccine has induced a protective immune response in hundreds of people who got the shot.The vaccine did not create any severe side effects, the journal said.

The researchers said that they had found their experimental COVID-19 vaccine produced a dual immune response in people aged 18 to 55. “We are seeing good immune response in almost everybody,” said Dr. Adrian Hill, director of the Jenner Institute at Oxford University. “What this vaccine does particularly well is trigger both arms of the immune system,” he said.

Hill said that neutralizing antibodies are produced — molecules which are key to blocking infection. Moreover, the vaccine also makes a reaction in the body’s T-cells which help to fight off the coronavirus.

“There’s increasing evidence that having a T-cell response as well as antibodies could be very important in controlling COVID-19,” Hill said. He suggested the immune response might be boosted after a second dose; their trial tested two doses administered about four weeks apart.

Hill said Oxford’s vaccine is designed to reduce disease and transmission. “We hope this means the immune system will remember the virus, so that our vaccine will protect people for an extended period,” study lead author Andrew Pollard of the University of Oxford said.

“However, we need more research before we can confirm the vaccine effectively protects against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection, and for how long any protection lasts,” he said.

The vaccine candidate has been developed by the Jenner Institute, a part of the Nuffield Department of Medicine at the University of Oxford. The formulation is backed by by AstraZeneca PLC, a British-Swedish pharmaceutical company.

AstraZeneca has already committed to making 2 billion doses. The pharmaceutical company has partnered with Serum Institute of India to produce the vaccine.

“We are working on the AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine which is undergoing phase III clinical trials. Besides, we will also start human trials in India in August 2020. Based on the current situation and most recent updates on the clinical trials, we are hoping that the AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine will be available towards the end of 2020,” Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla told news agency PTI.