Safe, well-tolerated and immunogenic: Oxford COVID-19 vaccine human trial reveals

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An experimental COVID-19 vaccine, being developed by the University of Oxford, is safe and produced an immune response in early-stage clinical trials in healthy volunteers, according to trial results published in UK based medical Journal ‘The Lancet’. It said the vaccine, called AZD1222, developed by pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and scientists at Britain's University of Oxford, did not prompt any serious side effects and induced strong antibody and T-cell immune responses.

Scientists at Oxford University said that they found their experimental COVID-19 vaccine produced a dual immune response in people aged 18 to 55 that lasted at least two months after they were immunized. The vaccine was tested on 1077 people in phase I and II of the human trials.  Result published at The Lancet journal said the vaccine triggered a T-cell response within 14 days of vaccination and an antibody response within 28 days.  A T-cell response refers to the attack of the white blood cells on the cells that are infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

"The Phase I/II data for our coronavirus vaccine shows that the vaccine did not lead to any unexpected reactions and had a similar safety profile to previous vaccines of this type. The immune responses observed following vaccination are in line with what previous animal studies have shown are associated with protection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, although we must continue with our rigorous clinical trial programme to confirm this in humans,” said Professor Andrew Pollard, Chief investigator of the Oxford Vaccine Trial at Oxford University and co-author of the study.

Taking to Twitter, Richard Horton, editor at The Lancet, said, "The phase 1/2 Oxford COVID-19 vaccine trial is now published. The vaccine is safe, well-tolerated, and immunogenic. Congratulations to Pedro Folegatti and colleagues. These results are extremely encouraging."

The paper in The Lancet was much anticipated as the Oxford University’s experimental vaccine has been touted as one of the frontrunners among over 20 vaccine candidates that have entered the human trial stage.

Currently, Phase-III trials have begun in South Africa and Brazil. These countries were chosen for the trials to enable adequate participation in trials. The phase III part of the study involves assessing how the vaccine works in a large number of people over the age of 18 . This group will allow assessment of how well the vaccine works to protect people from becoming infected with COVID-19, University of Oxford had said.

Meanwhile, the government of UK has already ordered 90 million doses of the vaccine being developed by the Oxford University. While the latest results are highly encouraging, it will be a little early to say that coronavirus now has a cure as phase trials are still underway.

Nearly two dozen potential vaccines are in various stages of human testing worldwide, with a handful entering necessary late-stage testing to prove effectiveness.