Notice: Undefined index: banner_ad_width in /home/ayekooto/public_html/wp-content/plugins/quick-adsense-reloaded/includes/render-ad-functions.php on line 359
Notice: Undefined index: image_width in /home/ayekooto/public_html/wp-content/plugins/quick-adsense-reloaded/includes/render-ad-functions.php on line 359
Notice: Undefined index: banner_ad_height in /home/ayekooto/public_html/wp-content/plugins/quick-adsense-reloaded/includes/render-ad-functions.php on line 360
Notice: Undefined index: image_height in /home/ayekooto/public_html/wp-content/plugins/quick-adsense-reloaded/includes/render-ad-functions.php on line 360
Towards the worldwide battle against the coronavirus ,a team of scientists at Oxford University’s Jenner Institute and Oxford Vaccine Group has taken an advancing step in the discovery of a safe, effective and accessible vaccine.
According to published results of the Phase I/II trial on the July 20, in the scientific journal, The Lancet, indicate no early safety concerns and induces strong immune responses in both parts of the immune system.
The vaccine provoked a T cell response within 14 days of vaccination (white blood cells that can attack cells infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus), and an antibody response within 28 days (antibodies are able to neutralise the virus so that it cannot infect cells when initially contracted).
During the study, participants who received the vaccine had detectable neutralising antibodies, which have been suggested by researchers as important for protection, and these responses were strongest after a booster dose, with 100% of participants’ blood having neutralising activity against the coronavirus. The next step in studying the vaccine is to confirm that it can effectively protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection.
“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,” Prof Pollard continues.
A UK Phase I/II trial began in April testing the Oxford coronavirus vaccine ChAdOx1 nCoV-19. The team started working to develop a vaccine against the global threat that is coronavirus in January 2020 and have been working with unprecedented urgency in a race against the coronavirus.
During the Phase I/II trial, the vaccine has been evaluated in more than 1,000 healthy adult volunteers aged between 18 and 55 years in a randomised controlled trial. A subset of these volunteers (10 people) received two doses of the vaccine. Between April 23, 2020 and May 21, 2020, 1077 volunteers, received the vaccine ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 or a placebo MenACWY vaccine. There were no serious adverse health events related to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19.
The University of Oxford is working with the UK-based global biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca for the further development, large-scale manufacture and potential distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine, with plans for clinical development and production of the Oxford vaccine progressing globally. The project has been spurred by £84 million of Government funding to help accelerate the vaccine’s development.
“We are encouraged by the Phase I/II interim data showing AZD1222 was capable of generating a rapid antibody and T-cell response against SARS-CoV-2. While there is more work to be done, today’s data increases our confidence that the vaccine will work and allows us to continue our plans to manufacture the vaccine at scale for broad and equitable access around the world,” says Mene Pangalos, Executive Vice President of BioPharmaceuticals Research and Development at AstraZeneca.
Oxford and AstraZeneca are collaborating with clinical partners around the world as part of a global clinical programme to trial the Oxford vaccine. The global programme is made up of a Phase III trial in the US enrolling 30,000 patients, a paediatric study, as well as Phase III trials in low-to-middle income countries including Brazil and South Africa which are currently in progress.
Fatimah Oyesanmi
Comment here