Oxford Vaccine Is Safe, Stops COVID-19 In 100% Early Human Trials, Claims Report

Oxford Vaccine research team delivered the good news we were all waiting for since last week.

Phase 1/2 human trial of the Oxford vaccine against COVID-19, the ChAdOx1 nCoV vaccine has successfully neutralized SARS-CoV2 virus in all infected human hosts, according to latest report in the Lancet -- a medical journal tracking COVID-19 research around the world.

Reuters

The report said that phase 3 trials are needed to conclude whether this Oxford vaccine can help end COVID-19 pandemic around the world.

NEW¡ªUK¡¯s #COVID19 vaccine is safe and induces an immune reaction, according to preliminary results https://t.co/rDPlB9fDKr pic.twitter.com/z2t9Aubjim

¡ª The Lancet (@TheLancet) July 20, 2020

The findings of the report said this about the COVID-19 Oxford vaccine, "ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 showed an acceptable safety profile, and homologous boosting increased antibody responses. These results, together with the induction of both humoral and cellular immune responses, support large scale evaluation of this candidate vaccine in an ongoing phase 3 programme."

Oxford COVID-19 Caccine production

AstraZeneca, the global biopharmaceutical firm that holds all the attention at present for its upcoming COVID-19 vaccine candidate, is due to announce breakthrough results tomorrow. Once out, the results would showcase the effects of the most advanced vaccine of its kind for the novel coronavirus.

Called ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, the vaccine has been developed by a team from the University of Oxford and has already been backed by Indian ICMR. Once ready, it will also be trialled and mass-produced by Serum India Institute based in Pune, world's largest producer of vaccine doses by volume. The vaccine will then be available starting September at Rs 1,000 per unit.

The production plans, however, will only go as desired if the results from the final phase of human tests are positive. Due to be published in the Lancet first, the positive news has already been hinted at in reports.

Oxford Vaccine success against COVID-19

(Representative Image: Reuters)

Oxford¡¯s COVID-19 vaccine has shown a promising effect since the early test phases. In its trials on monkeys, the vaccine was demonstrated on six monkeys which were then exposed to a massive dose of SARS-CoV-2 via multiple routes, 28 days later.

Thanks to the vaccine, the animals showed no signs of pneumonia in their lungs even after the exposure. ¡°By all indications, they felt fine¡± records the report. So it became evident that the vaccine is generating the kind of antibody and T-cell (killer cell) that the team hoped for.

Similar results were also recorded in initial human trials. Sarah Gilbert, Professor of Vaccinology at the university, who is spearheading the vaccine development is very confident in the candidate. She said the ¡°Oxford vaccine has an 80% probability of being effective in stopping people who are exposed to the novel coronavirus from developing COVID-19.¡±

The underlying reasons

An assessment to count T cells produced through the vaccination. (Image: John Cairns/University of Oxford)

There is a reason why the Oxford vaccine is months ahead of its counterparts. In addition to the fact that the team was able to crunch the development phase of the vaccine to mere four months, it has also used a different approach to its development.

Oxford¡¯s vaccine candidate is a viral vector type vaccine that uses a harmless virus to deliver the genetic material of a pathogen into cells. In this particular care, Gilbert and team have used a chimpanzee adenovirus (a common cold virus) as the trojan horse.

The injected genetic material is then supposed to generate an immune response in the body against the real pathogen, SARS-CoV-2 virus. The vaccine is thus meant to trick the immune system to fight back the COVID-19.

The process is different from traditional vaccines that use weakened or inactivated form of the pathogen to stimulate an immune response. This new method is mentioned to be easier and hence quicker to develop.

Thus the Oxford vaccine is months ahead in its schedule than all other candidates. With today's positive development news, the vaccine would be the best shot that the human population has against the virus and ending COVID-19 pandemic, at least for now.