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JAB HOPES
Oxford’s Covid-19 vaccine is SAFE and can train immune system to fight disease, first human trial reveals
HOPES of a coronavirus vaccine were boosted today after Oxford University revealed its jab is safe and can trigger an immune response.
The first human trials show that the experimental vaccine could provide double protection against Covid-19 - which lasts for at least two months.
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Scientists at Oxford first started testing their jab - one of the front-runners in the global race for a vaccine - in April.
Their highly-anticipated findings published today in The Lancet show it can induce strong responses in both parts of the immune system.
Experts say it provoked a type of response in the white blood cell, known as a T cell, within 14 days of vaccination - and an antibody response within 28 days.
Promising results
Compared with the control group of those given a meningitis vaccine, the Covid-19 vaccine caused minor side effects more frequently, according to the study.
But some of these could be reduced by taking paracetamol, the researchers said, adding that there were no serious adverse events from the vaccine.
Co-author 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."
The vaccine is already being manufactured by Cambridge-based firm AstraZeneca and the Government has ordered 100million doses.
An ideal vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 should be effective after one or two vaccinations and work in target populations including older adults and those with other health conditions, researchers say.
They add that it should confer protection for a minimum of six months, and reduce onward transmission of the virus to contacts.
However, the experts warn that the current trial is too preliminary to confirm whether the new vaccine meets these requirements.
Phase two - in the UK only - and phase three trials to confirm whether it effectively protects against the virus are taking place in the UK, Brazil and South Africa.
The trial included 1,077 healthy adults aged 18-55 years with no history of Covid-19, and took place in five UK hospitals between April 23 and May 21.
The participants either received the new vaccine (543 people), or the meningitis vaccine (534 people).
Some of them - 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.
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All volunteers gave additional blood samples and underwent clinical assessments to determine if the vaccine was safe and whether it provoked an immune response.
The most commonly reported reactions were fatigue and headache, but some participants also reported pain at the injection site, muscle ache, malaise, chills, feeling feverish, and high temperature.
In addition, in the 10 people who received the extra dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, side effects were less common after the second dose.
'Double protection'
The research found that the vaccine stimulates an antibody and T-cell response.
Antibodies are proteins produced by the blood in response to antigens, which are harmful substances that come from outside the body, such as from viruses or bacteria.
If the non-specific immune cells which respond to any invader instantly cannot tackle it, the T-cells come into play.
They take two forms - helper T-cells and killer T-cells, with the latter attacking the virus directly.
T-cell responses targeting the Sars-CoV-2 spike protein were markedly increased in the 43 participants studied, peaking 14 days after vaccination.
This level declined slightly by day 56 of the trial.
Researchers also found that the T-cell response did not increase with a second dose of the vaccine.
Booster jab
Antibody responses in those given a single dose peaked by day 28, and remained high until the measurement at day 56 in the trial.
This response was boosted by a second dose.
Four weeks after vaccination, neutralising antibody responses against Sars-CoV-2 were detected in 32 of 35 participants, and in 35 of 35 participants - depending on the test - who received a single dose of the vaccine.
These responses were also present in all participants who had a booster dose of the vaccine.
The authors note a number of limitations to their study, saying more research is needed to confirm their findings in different groups of people - including older age groups, those with other health conditions, and in ethnically and geographically diverse populations.
In the current trial, 91 per cent of participants were white and the average age of participants was 35 years.
A senior immunologist involved in the development of a Covid-19 vaccine at Oxford University described the results as "very encouraging".
Prof Andrew Pollard, of the Oxford Vaccine Group, said the vaccine was "very well tolerated" by more than 1,000 volunteers involved in the trial.
"We are seeing good immune responses - exactly the sort of response we were hoping for - including neutralising antibodies and T-cell responses that seem to be those that are associated with protection," he said.
"This is an important milestone on the path and we are now moving rapidly forward to see if it actually protects the population by conducting large-scale trials and we have 10,000 people already vaccinated around the world."
Single dose effective
Prof Adrian Hill, director of the Jenner Institute for Vaccine Research, said the Oxford vaccine produced "pretty good antibodies after just a single dose".
Speaking at a webinar organised by the Science Media Centre, he said: "These antibodies increase several fold after a second dose, so that has influenced our plans."
He added: "We are characterising in ever more detail the quality of the cellular immune response".
'Game-changing' coronavirus inhaler treatment slashes risk of severe illness
BY Nick McDermott, Health Editor
COVID patients given a “game-changing” drug saw their risk of severe illness slashed by 79 per cent.
Early trial data shows hospitalised Brits treated with the inhaled therapy were more than twice as likely to recover from coronavirus.
The treatment has been developed by the pharmaceutical company Synairgen and Southampton Uni.
The findings come from a small study of 101 patients.
Scientists claim that if confirmed in bigger trials, the drug will be a “game-changer”.
Synairgen chief executive Richard Marsden told the BBC the results were "a major breakthrough in the treatment of hospitalised Covid-19 patients".
He added: “We couldn't have expected much better results than these."
But he warned more data was needed to be able to compare data with the outcomes from other vaccine trials in different countries, and that testing was not as standardised as the team would like in order to compare results.
Such early trials are usually designed only to evaluate safety, but in this case experts were also looking to see what kind of immune response was provoked.
The research was published today in the prestigious journal The Lancet.
It comes after the Prime Minister admitted he is "not 100 per cent confident of a Covid vaccine by next year".
Boris Johnson later tweeted: "This is very positive news. A huge well done to our brilliant, world-leading scientists & researchers at @UniofOxford.
"There are no guarantees, we're not there yet & further trials will be necessary - but this is an important step in the right direction."
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the update on the vaccine was ";very encouraging news". He tweeted: "We have already ordered 100 million doses of this vaccine, should it succeed. "Congratulations to the scientists at @UniofOxford & @OxfordVacGroup and leadership of @AstraZeneca."
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Their comments came after the UK secured 90 million doses of a potential vaccine to make sure Brits are first in line for a jab.
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The latest deal is for vaccines being developed by an alliance between the pharmaceutical giants BioNtech and Pfizer as well as the firm Valneva.
This is in addition to the 100 million doses of a vaccine being developed by Oxford University with AstraZeneca.
Boris Johnson says he can't say he's 100 per cent sure there will be a vaccination by this year - or even 2021
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