Tag: Oxford University

“A vaccine for the world”

Oxford University vaccine shows 70% protection with single dose – and 90% with second dose

The University of Oxford, in collaboration with AstraZeneca plc, has today announced interim trial data from its Phase III trials that show its candidate vaccine, ChAdOx1 nCoV-2019, is effective at preventing COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) and offers a high level of protection.

The coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford stops 70% of people developing Covid symptoms, a large-scale trial has shown, and while the Oxford vaccine offers less protection than those produced by Pfizer and Moderna – both promising 95% protection – the Oxford vaccine is much cheaper and is easier to store. This gives the Oxford – AstaZeneca vaccine an advantage over the other two when trying to reach difficult to access areas across the world.

  • Phase 3 interim analysis including 131 Covid-19 cases indicates that the vaccine is 70.4% effective when combining data from two dosing regimens
  • In the two different dose regimens vaccine efficacy was 90% in one and 62% in the other
  • Higher efficacy regimen used a halved first dose and standard second dose
  • Early indication that vaccine could reduce virus transmission from an observed reduction in asymptomatic infections
  • There were no hospitalised or severe cases in anyone who received the vaccine
  • Large safety database from over 24,000 volunteers from clinical trials in the UK, Brazil and South Africa, with follow up since April
  • Crucially, vaccine can be easily administered in existing healthcare systems, stored at ‘fridge temperature’ (2-8 °C) and distributed using existing logistics
  • Large scale manufacturing ongoing in over 10 countries to support equitable global access

Professor Andrew Pollard, Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group and Chief Investigator of the Oxford Vaccine Trial, said: ‘These findings show that we have an effective vaccine that will save many lives.

“Excitingly, we’ve found that one of our dosing regimens may be around 90% effective and if this dosing regimen is used, more people could be vaccinated with planned vaccine supply. Today’s announcement is only possible thanks to the many volunteers in our trial, and the hard working and talented team of researchers based around the world.’

Professor Sarah Gilbert, Professor of Vaccinology at the University of Oxford, said: ‘The announcement today takes us another step closer to the time when we can use vaccines to bring an end to the devastation caused by SARS-CoV-2. We will continue to work to provide the detailed information to regulators.

“It has been a privilege to be part of this multi-national effort which will reap benefits for the whole world.”

Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer, AstraZeneca, said: “Today marks an important milestone in our fight against the pandemic. This vaccine’s efficacy and safety confirm that it will be highly effective against COVID-19 and will have an immediate impact on this public health emergency.

“Furthermore, the vaccine’s simple supply chain and our no-profit pledge and commitment to broad, equitable and timely access means it will be affordable and globally available supplying hundreds of millions of doses on approval.”

Welcoming news of the breakthrough, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “This is incredibly exciting news. There are still further safety checks ahead but these are fantastic results.”

NHS Lothian to play key role in COVID-19 vaccine trial

NHS Lothian is set to become involved in a major clinical vaccine trial testing the new Covid-19 vaccine in collaboration with Oxford University and 17 other sites across the UK.

The vaccine study will run at both the Western General Hospital and the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

The aim is to enrol approximately 600 Lothian frontline health and social care workers which will include doctors, nurses, emergency department staff, paramedics, care home nurses, porters and domestics to test a new vaccine.

Screening volunteer health and social care workers is planned to begin from next week.

Dr Tracey Gillies, Medical Director, NHS Lothian, said: “We are pleased to be participating in this unprecedented clinical vaccine trial and I would like to thank everyone for their participation in this vital research.

“Their involvement will be essential in the development of a vaccine and this pioneering and important research allows us the opportunity to contribute to the development of a globally approved vaccine against Covid-19.”

The main focus of the study will be to develop a safe vaccine for use across the population.

As part of that, it will investigate the effectiveness of the vaccine, to pinpoint any side effects and to establish if it induces good immune responses against the virus.

To recruit the large number of participants needed for this trial, multiple clinical research sites across the UK are involved in delivering the study. The collaborative effort, led by the University of Oxford, will see vaccinations taking place throughout May and June.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said: “I am delighted that the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow along with NHS colleagues are taking part in the human safety trials for the development of a COVID-19 vaccine by Oxford University.

“Scotland has a long established reputation for medical research, and I would like to thank the research community across the country. The pace of work and the commitment of teams across Scotland has been outstanding and is testament to the world-class research infrastructure and expertise we have here.

“Of course, while the prospect of an effective vaccine developed here in the UK is exciting, there is no guarantee of success and we must continue to follow the guidelines set out by the Scottish Government to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and protect our NHS.”