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Merge 104.8 | 21 July 2020
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has expressed his support over recent findings in University of Oxford-led COVID-19 vaccine trials which indicate that the vaccine prototype safely generated an immune response in human test subjects.
In a statement issued online by Oman News Agency (ONA), Prime Minister Johnson said that: “The results of the COVID-19 vaccine trials conducted by Oxford University are very positive.”
Researchers from the Oxford team announced on Monday [July 20] that the vaccine prototype ‘ChAdOx1 nCoV-19’ triggered the production of antibodies and T-cells capable of fighting coronavirus in 1,077 people taking part in the trial.
As the BBC reports, the vaccine prototype has been made from “a genetically-engineered virus that causes the common cold in chimpanzees.” Significant modifications to the virus have made it safe to use in human trials and, have also made it resemble more closely the COVID-19 novel coronavirus.
As per the BBC, this means that the body’s immune system can learn how to mount a defense against it, noting that “nearly all effective vaccines induce both an antibody and a T-cell response.”
While researchers at Oxford believe the early results to be promising, whether or not the vaccine prototype can offer sustained protection, and what level of dose is needed for that protection is still yet to be determined.
As stated by the BBC, further steps in the trial will involve more than 10,000 people in the UK taking part in its next stage. The trial will also be expanded to other countries, with 30,000 people targeted for participation in the US, 5,000 in Brazil, and 2,000 in South Africa.
Source: BBC
(Also read: COVID-19 Oman: “We don’t blame the citizens, but they are our only bet,” says top MoH official.)
