London: There is a global race to find a vaccine for the dreaded COVID-19. It seems however, that the Oxford University research team has gone a step ahead of all its competitors. Trial of the vaccine for COVID-19 on humans is already underway. The researchers have expressed hope that the coronavirus vaccine will be widely available by September.
Technology lab researchers had already developed in previous work on inoculations for other viruses. Among the viruses is a close relative of COVID-19. This gave the researchers a bigger base to work on to develop the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Well personally, I have a high degree of confidence about this vaccine, because it’s technology that I’ve used before,” said Sarah Gilbert. She is a professor of vaccinology at the Oxford University and head of the research team.
Process COVID-19 vaccine works
The vaccine takes the coronavirus’ genetic material and injects it into a common cold virus that has been neutralized. So it cannot spread in people. The modified virus will mimic COVID-19, triggering the immune system to fight off the imposter. In the process it will provide protection against the real thing, researchers said.
The experimental vaccine has reportedly worked in protecting rhesus macaque monkeys that were exposed to heavy quantities of COVID-19. In the human trials, 550 participants were given the vaccine, and another 550 receive a placebo.
“It feels like finally, I am able to do something…” said Oxford scientist and trial volunteer Elisa Granato. “This was a way for me to contribute to the cause,” she added.
Chemical name of new vaccine
The research seeks to determine the effectiveness and safety of the potential vaccine, named ‘ChAdOx1 nCoV-19’, said a report.
‘ChAdOx1 nCoV-19’ is an ostensible recombinant viral vector vaccine developed from a harmless virus called an adenovirus. It has been modified to generate the surface spike protein of the pandemic-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The clinical research may be shifted out of the United Kingdom. That is if the pandemic there goes down to an extent, where the effectiveness can’t be reliably ascertained.
Best-case scenario
“Our ability to determine vaccine efficacy will be affected by the amount of virus transmission in the local population over the summer. We are also thinking about initiating trials with partners in other countries to determine the vaccine efficacy,” Gilbert told the ‘Lancet’.
“The best-case scenario is that by the autumn of 2020, we have an efficacy result from phase 3. Then others will have to chip in with the ability to manufacture large amounts of the vaccine,” she added.
Wasting no time, the largest drugmaker in the world, based in India, will start producing millions of the Oxford vaccines by next month.
Agencies
