Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine Developers Optimistic About Immune Response

In the ongoing human trials for COVID-19 vaccine, the Oxford University team says they have seen have right sort of immune response.

According to Reuters, Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at the university, said 8,000 volunteers had been enrolled for the Phase III of the trial, AZD1222, which was licensed to AstraZeneca.

AP

Also Read: AstraZeneca Expects Covid-19 Vaccine By September As Pharma Firms Ramp Up Efforts For Vaccine

In positive feedback of Oxford¡¯s trials, Prof Gilbert told the Metro UK, "Vaccines have a different way of engaging with the immune system, and we follow people in our studies using the same type of technology to make the vaccines for several years, and we still see strong immune responses."

"It¡¯s something we have to test and follow over time ¨C we can¡¯t know until we actually have the data ¨C but we¡¯re optimistic based on earlier studies that we will see a good duration of immunity, for several years at least, and probably better than naturally-acquired immunity.¡¯

The project has started Phase III of the human trials to assess how the vaccine works in a large number of people over the age of 18, and how well the vaccine works to prevent people from becoming infected and unwell with COVID-19.

Also Read: All Of UK Could Be Vaccinated For COVID-19 By Christmas, Claims Oxford Professor

The race is on to develop a working COVID-19 vaccine, with fears that the pandemic could re-intensify towards the end of the year.

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Kate Bingham, chair of the UK Government Vaccine Taskforce, said that, excluding the Oxford vaccine programme, she hoped there would be a breakthrough by early 2021.

Gilbert said she hoped that her Oxford vaccine would make progress earlier, but was not more specific as she said the timeline for when the vaccine might be ready depends on the results of the trial.

John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University, said that Britain should prepare for not having a COVID-19 vaccine for the winter and encourage people to get their flu vaccinations to avoid ¡°pandemonium¡± in hospitals.

¡°This whole epidemic has relied too heavily on assumptions that have turned out not to be true,¡± he said

In an interview with Hindustan Times. Oxford University professor Sunetra Gupta explained lockdowns are not a long-term solution and that they are only a 'sensible idea' to keep the virus at bay.

Professor Sunetra Gupta, an epidemiologist at Oxford University, says #lockdown is a drastic measure and may not be a long-term solutionhttps://t.co/WSabdel2gM

¡ª Hindustan Times (@htTweets) July 1, 2020

A professor of theoretical epidemiology at Oxford University, Sunetra Gupta made headlines with research on the best-case scenario for the outbreak, reports Guardian. Professor Gupta told HT that "The vaccine, when it will come into existence, will be used to support the vulnerable" and that "most of us don¡¯t need to worry about coronavirus.¡±