Oxford coronavirus vaccine safe, able to induce immunity in initial trials: Study

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Jul 20, 2020: The Oxford University’s novel coronavirus vaccine candidate has shown promise in phase I/II human trials, according to peer-reviewed results of the study published The Lancet. Writing in the journal, the Oxford researchers said that their coronavirus vaccine -- ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 -- "showed an acceptable safety profile, and homologous boosting increased antibody responses".

This means that the Oxford coronavirus vaccine was shown to be safe and able to induce immune response against the virus in initial trials. The researchers added that the phase I/II results of the Oxford coronavirus vaccine "support largescale evaluation of this candidate vaccine". The Oxford vaccine is already in phase III trials where it is being tested for the level of protection it affords against the novel coronavirus.

If a vaccine clears phase III human trials, it is ready to be approved for public use.

The results of Oxford coronavirus vaccine’s phase I/II trials, finally published in the peer-reviewed British journal The Lancet Monday evening, were highly anticipated. Tweeting The Lancet article on the study’s findings, Richard Horton, the editor-in-chief of the prestigious journal, said the results are "extremely encouraging".

"The phase 1/2 Oxford COVID-19 vaccine trial is now published. The vaccine is safe, well-tolerated, and immunogenic," Horton said.

In their paper, the researchers wrote that their vaccine, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 or AZD1222, did not prompt any serious side effects and elicited antibody and T-cell immune responses. "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.
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Pollard, however, noted that more research is required. "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.

Pollard also said that the strongest immune response was noticed in a group of ten people who had been given two doses of the experimental vaccine. "We saw the strongest immune response in the 10 participants who received two doses of the vaccine, indicating that this might be a good strategy for vaccination," Pollard said.

Formally named ChAdOx1, the Oxford vaccine is now called called AZD1222 and is being developed by jointly by the University of Oxford and the British-Swedish pharma company AstraZeneca. The phase I/II trials for the vaccine began in April this year.



courtesy:IndiaToday