Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine shows positive response in preliminary report

A potential novel coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine developed by Oxford University produced a strong immune response in early trials, according to a preliminary report published Monday in The Lancet.

The vaccine, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, was developed in partnership with the pharmaceutical giant, AstraZeneca. The phase 1 single-blind, randomized controlled trial included 1,077 participants, and combines genetic material from the coronavirus with a modified adenovirus that is known to cause infections in chimpanzees.

According to the report, the vaccine resulted in a positive immune response, and produced both antibodies and killer T-cells, as well as neutralizing antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2 after 28 days. There were no serious adverse events. Common side effects were mild and included pain, feeling feverish, chills, muscle ache, headache, and malaise.

The report comes less than a week after biotech firm Moderna published its interim results in The New England Journal of Medicine, which also showed promising results in a phase 1 trial with 45 healthy participants.

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