AstraZeneca COVID-19 shot is showing good results
Vials with a sticker reading, “COVID-19 / Coronavirus vaccine / Injection onl” and a medical syringe are seen in front of a displayed AstraZeneca logo in this illustration taken on October 31, 2020.
AstraZeneca and Oxford University’s potential COVID-19 vaccine produced a strong immune response in older adults, data published on Thursday showed, with researchers expecting to release late-stage trial results by Christmas.
The data, reported in part last month but published in full in The Lancet medical journal on Thursday, suggest that those aged over 70, who are at higher risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19, could build robust immunity.
“The robust antibody and T-cell responses seen in older people in our study are encouraging,” said Maheshi Ramasamy, a consultant and co-lead investigator at the Oxford Vaccine Group. “We hope that this means our vaccine will help to protect some of the most vulnerable people in society, but further research will be needed before we can be sure.”
Late-stage, or Phase III vaccine trials are ongoing to confirm the findings, researchers said, and to test whether the vaccine protects against infection with SARS-CoV-2 in a broader range of people, including people with underlying health conditions.
Results of those trials should definitely be known by Christmas, the Oxford Vaccine Group’s director Andrew Pollard said.
