COVID-19 Oxford Vaccine Update

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According to a recent paper published in the renowned scientific journal, The Lancet, Oxford University Coronavirus vaccine has induced a robust immune response in phase I/II of the human-based clinical trials.  The vaccine is named as ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and it is expected to bring in a great potential against COVID-19 pandemic.

Oxford Scientists took the vaccine to clinical trial phases which included healthy individuals aging from 18 to 55 years with no signs and symptoms of the COVID-19. Also, they were tested negative against the infection as well.

Within 1 month, more than 1077 people participated in the trials. Mild symptoms were observed in the participants who were given the Coronavirus vaccine. These symptoms included pain, fever, chills, body ache, headache, and restlessness which were reduced by paracetamol. Yet no serious severe symptoms were observed. After vaccinating the individuals, safety and tolerance of the vaccine were ensured by giving paracetamol for the first 24 hours.

How the Vaccine Worked?

The virus was found to work against the 2 types of immunity in our body:

White Blood Cells (WBCs) Response

Within the 14 days of vaccination, the proposed vaccine induced a T Cells or WBCs (which fights infection in our body) response. This response attacked the cells infected with the Coronavirus.

Antibody* Response

Within 28 days, the antibody response was observed by the vaccine which involved the production of virus-neutralizing antibodies.

*An antibody is a defensive/protective molecule produced by our immune system in response to a pathogen. 

Booster Dose

After the booster dose, every participant had a detectable neutralizing antibody against the Coronavirus. According to Professor Andrew Pollard, Chief investigator of the Oxford Vaccine Trial, among all the participants, 10 were given two doses of the vaccines. The booster dose showed a robust immune response and every participant showed a detectable neutralizing antibody against the Coronavirus. This indicates that the administration of two doses can be a good vaccination strategy.

Phase 3 Trials

The successful initial results of phase I/II trials lead to a global clinical program of phase 3 trials. To evaluate the efficacy of the Oxford vaccine globally, phase 3 trials are already underway in the UK, South Africa and Brazil.

Large-Scale Production

For the further development, mass production and distribution of the Oxford Coronavirus vaccine, the University of Oxford are working in collaboration with the UK-based global biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.

We are one big step closer to the COVID-19 vaccine, so brace yourself & keep following the SOPs. We are very near to finding a cure!


References

Folegatti et al, P. M. (2020). Safety and immunogenicity of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine against SARS-CoV-2: a preliminary report of a phase 1/2, single-blind, randomized controlled trial. The Lancet.

(2020). A new study reveals the Oxford coronavirus vaccine produces strong immune response. UK: The University of Oxford.


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