© STEVE PARSONS / POOL / AFP via Getty Images
STEVE PARSONS / POOL / AFP via Getty Images
- Scientists developing a coronavirus vaccine believe they have made a breakthrough in early trials of a jab that could offer “double protection” against the virus.
- Blood samples taken from the group of 500 UK volunteers who received a dose of the vaccine developed antibodies and T cells in response, according to the Daily Telegraph.
- A total of 124 coronavirus vaccines are currently being developed, and 10 are currently being tested in people.
- Scientists do not yet know if a vaccine could provide long-term immunity to COVID-19.
- Visit the Business Insider home page for more stories.
A team of UK scientists vying to develop a coronavirus vaccine believe they have made a breakthrough in the first trials of a jab that may eventually offer “double protection” against the virus.
Researchers at the University of Oxford began human trials of a coronavirus vaccine in April. Blood samples taken from the group of 500 UK volunteers who received a dose of the vaccine developed antibodies and T cells in response, according to multiple reports, including the Daily Telegraph.
T cells can kill a virus and the cells it has infected, providing an important part of the body’s response to viral infections. The discovery is promising because two recent studies have indicated that the antibodies can disappear in weeks or months, while T cells can remain in circulation in the body for much longer.
A source told the Telegraph that the combination of T cells and antibodies “would hopefully keep people safe.”
A total of 124 coronavirus vaccines are currently being developed, and 10 are currently being tested in people. But scientists still don’t know if a vaccine could give Covid-19 long-term immunity.
But David Carpenter, chairman of the Berkshire Research Ethics Committee, which approved the Oxford trial, told the Telegraph that the team was “absolutely on track” and said the vaccine could be available, if it turns out to be effective, as soon as September.
“No one can set end dates … things could go wrong, but the reality is that by working with a large pharmaceutical company, that vaccine could be quite available in September and that’s the kind of goal they’re working on,” said. .
A larger trial for the Oxford vaccine of 5,000 volunteers is currently underway in Brazil, and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has signed a contract to mass-produce the vaccine if it is shown to be effective.
The full findings from the first trials for the Oxford vaccine will be published in The Lancet, a medical journal, on July 20, the Telegraph reported.
Matt Hancock, the UK’s health secretary, said on Wednesday that the “best case scenario” was a vaccine available this year, but that it would probably be ready by next year.
“We are all working to achieve the best case scenario, we are all giving AstraZeneca and the Oxford team, and the Imperial vaccine, all possible support, we are working with the other potential vaccines worldwide, in the United States, and Germany and the Netherlands, “said Robert Peston of ITV.
“We are working with them to make sure that if they come out first, we will have access to them here.
“But this is an inexact science and it is at risk.”
A spokesman for Oxford University said the full article outlining their findings will be published in The Lancet on Monday next week.
Gallery: What is hepatitis and how can it be treated? (StarsInsider)
Keep reading
