The COVID-19 vaccine called ‘AZD1222’ developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca has shown promising results against coronavirus infection.
The encouraging results came at a time when global countries such as the US, India and Brazil are continuously the highest single-day spike in coronavirus cases.
So far, around 14.8 million people worldwide are infected and 613,335 lost their lives due to coronavirus.
The phase-1 and phase-2 vaccine trails have induced a strong immune response and showed no adverse reaction among the 1,077 participants.
According to the trial results published in The Lancet journal, the vaccine elicited a T-Cell response within 14 days of vaccination and an antibody response within 28 days.
“Participants showed detectable neutralizing antibodies, which have been suggested by researchers as important for protection. The strongest response was noted among those who received two doses of the vaccine,” said the University.
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“However, we need more research before we can confirm the vaccine effectively protects against SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) infection and how long any protection lasts,” said Study Lead Author Andrew Pollard of the Oxford University.
“We do welcome the study and congratulate our colleagues at the Oxford University’s General Institute and the Oxford Vaccine Group,” said WHO’s Health Emergencies Program Executive Director, Michael Ryan.
As the results so far are promising, the project has started phase-3 of the human trials to assess how the vaccine works among a larger community and how well it prevents infection.
The next-stage trials are underway in Brazil and South Africa and are due to start in the US, where the COVID-19 cases are higher.
The trial involves 30,000 people in the US, 2,000 in South Africa and 5,000 in Brazil.
AstraZeneca has signed deals with the global governments to produce and supply over 2 billion doses of the shot, with 300 million doses reserved for the US.
Likewise, more than 100 vaccines are being developed and tested worldwide to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
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