Name: Coronavirus human vaccine trials are safe and 'very encouraging'
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Coronavirus human vaccine trials are safe and 'very encouraging'

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A vaccine candidate developed at the University of Oxford has been tipped as the ‘front runner’, and now the first trial results have been publishedVideo UnavailableThe Covid-19 vaccine being developed at the University of Oxford is safe and induces an immune reaction, findings of the first phases of the study suggest. The findings on the Oxford vaccine trial were published in medical journal, The Lancet. Professor Sarah Gilbert, of the University of Oxford, said: "There is still much work to be done before we can confirm if our vaccine will help manage the Covid-19 pandemic, but these early results hold promise. "As well as continuing to test our vaccine in phase-three trials, we need to learn more about the virus - for example, we still do not know how strong an immune response we need to provoke to effectively protect against Sars-Cov-2 infection. "If our vaccine is effective, it is a promising option as these types of vaccine can be manufactured at large scale. "A successful vaccine against Sars-Cov-2 could be used to prevent infection, disease and death in the whole population, with high-risk populations such as hospital workers and older adults prioritised to receive vaccination."With global cases continuing to increase, scientists have been working around the clock to develop an effective vaccine. A vaccine candidate developed at the has been tipped as the ‘front runner’, and now the first trial results have been published. The Phase 1 and 2 trials showed encouraging results, and found that the vaccine is safe, causes few side effects and induces a strong immune response to the virus. The trial included 1,077 healthy adults aged 18-55 with no history of Covid-19. The participants either received the vaccine (543 people) or a control vaccine (534 people). Meanwhile, 113 participants (56 given the vaccine, and 57 in the control group) were also asked to take paracetamol before and for 24 hours after their vaccination to help reduce vaccine-associated reactions. The results showed that the vaccine was found to be safe, with no serious side effects. Fatigue and headache were the most common reactions, while some participants experienced pain at the injection site, fevers, chills and high temperature. Thankfully, paracetamol was found to reduce these side effects. In terms of the benefits against the virus, the study found that there were strong antibody and T-cell responses from the vaccine. Antibody responses peaked by day 28 after vaccination, and remained high until the measurement at day 56.While these are very promising findings, the researchers note some limitations, including the need for the vaccine to be tested in different groups of people, including older age groups and those with other health conditions. These groups are being recruited in the ongoing phase 2 and 3 trials of the vaccine, according to the researchers. The first phase of the trial at the University of Oxford began in April, and included 1,000 adult volunteers. Now, more than 10,000 volunteers - including over 70s and 5-12-year-olds - have been enrolled in the second and third phases of the trial. Aside from the UK, the vaccine is also being tested in South Africa and Brazil. The vaccine, called ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, is made from a virus ChAdOx1, which is a weakened version of a common cold virus that causes infections in chimpanzees, that has been genetically changed so that it is possible to grow in humans.The researchers explained: “By vaccinating with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, we are hoping to make the body recognise and develop an immune response to the Spike protein that will help stop the SARS-CoV-2 virus from entering human cells and therefore prevent infection.” While early reports indicated that the vaccine could be available as early as August, experts have warned it may not be ready until October. Professor Adrian Hill, director of the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford, explained that the ‘best scenario’ would see results from the trial in August and September, with deliveries from October. The delay is due to the fact that infection rates are now so low in the UK, according to Professor Sarah Gilbert, who is leading the research.She explained: “We had hoped to have enough people vaccinated before the outbreak reached a peak, but the virus spread rapidly, triggering a lockdown, and rates of infections are now falling. Unless some of the trial participants do become infected, we cannot know that the vaccine is effective. "We are thus focusing on vaccinating healthcare workers, as they have the highest rates of virus infections. Further, as measures to ease the lockdown are being introduced, transmission may rise again. "We need to manufacture more vaccine for the trials, and plan to start trials in more than one country to give ourselves the best chance of determining vaccine efficacy.”Video UnavailableRead moreCoronavirus vaccineA vaccine would offer some protection against the virus by training your immune system to fight it. This would allow lockdown to be lifted more safely, and social distancing to be relaxed. Thankfully, if the next phase of the trial is a success, it won't be long before the vaccine becomes available in the UK. The UK Government has secured early access to 90 million vaccine doses from AstraZeneca to protect the UK from coronavirus. In addition, treatments containing Covid-19-neutralising antibodies have been secured to protect those who cannot receive vaccines.Follow MORE ON

A vaccine candidate developed at the University of Oxford has been tipped as the ‘front runner’, and now the first trial results have been publishedVideo UnavailableThe Covid-19 vaccine being developed at the University of Oxford is safe and induces an immune reaction, findings of the first phases of the study suggest. The findings on the Oxford vaccine trial were published in medical journal, The Lancet. Professor Sarah Gilbert, of the University of Oxford, said: "There is still much work to be done before we can confirm if our vaccine will help manage the Covid-19 pandemic, but these...

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Coronavirus human vaccine trials are safe and 'very encouraging'

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