Table of contents:
- Oxford's developments in the COVID-19 vaccine
- 1,024,298
- 831,330
- 28,855
- The next step in clinical trials until the vaccine is ready for production
- When will the vaccine be ready for use?
The COVID-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford, England has succeeded in triggering the formation of antibodies and T-cells in clinical trial participants. Antibodies and T-cells are the army in the body that are able to detect and fight off bad viruses that will infect the organs of the body.
This research is still incomplete and should continue to the next stage of clinical trials, but the UK government believes this vaccine will make it through the next 2 stages of clinical trials. They have even ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine.
Oxford's developments in the COVID-19 vaccine
University of Oxford researchers in collaboration with the company "Astrazeneca" have released the clinical trial results of the COVID-19 vaccine phase 1/2 in The Lancet on Monday (20/7).
As a result, this Oxford vaccine responds to T-cells within 14 days and responds to antibodies within 28 days. These antibodies and T-cells formed in most of the participants after one injection of the vaccine and in all participants after the second injection.
Antibodies are small proteins made by the immune system and attach to the surface of the virus. These antibodies can neutralize or deactivate viruses that are harmful to the body. Meanwhile, T-cells are a type of white blood that can identify cells that have been infected with the virus and destroy them.
"The immune system has two ways to find and attack pathogens (viruses), namely the antibody response and T-cells. This vaccine is intended to form both of them, so that they can attack viruses circulating in the body, as well as attack cells that have been infected, "said the lead researcher, Dr. Andrew Pollard.
From this study, it is hoped that the immune system can "remember" the virus, so that the Oxford vaccine will protect people for a long time.
"However, we need further research to ensure that the vaccine effectively protects against SARS-CoV-2 infection, and for how long the protection lasts," he continued.
1,024,298
Confirmed831,330
Recovered28,855
DeathDistribution MapThe next step in clinical trials until the vaccine is ready for production
So far the results of clinical trials have been promising. But further clinical trials are still needed to make sure this vaccine is safe enough to be given to everyone.
"There is still a lot of work to be done to determine whether our vaccine will help manage the COVID-19 pandemic," Professor Sarah Gilbert, a researcher from the University of Oxford.
It is currently unclear how effective vaccines work in older people and people with comorbidities.
The test vaccine, called "ChAdOx1 nCoV-19", involved 1,077 participants aged 18 to 55 years. Testing was carried out in five UK hospitals from April to the end of May 2020.
The study has also not been able to show whether the Oxford vaccine can prevent people from getting sick or reduce symptoms of a COVID-19 infection.
According to the American Center for Disease Control (CDC), clinical trials on vaccines are required to go through 3 phases of testing. Phase 1 typically studies a small number of people to see if the vaccine is safe and elicits an antibody response.
In phase 2, the study is expanded and the vaccine is given to people whose characteristics such as age and physical health are similar to those of the infected person. The third phase is conducted for a large number of people to retest the efficacy, safety and safety of the test participants.
Furthermore, researchers will carry out the next stage clinical trials on more than 10,000 participants in the UK. Research will also be extended to other countries outside the UK, because the UK does not have enough cases of COVID-19 transmission.
The most effective way in follow-up clinical trials is to test them in red zones or areas with high transmission rates.
The plan is that clinical trials on this vaccine will be carried out on a large scale, involving 30,000 people in the United States, 2,000 people in South Africa, and 5,000 people in Brazil.
Oxford researchers will also conduct a challenge test, in which participants who have been injected with the vaccine are intentionally transmitted SARS-CoV-2 which causes COVID-19. However, there are still ethical issues due to the lack of medical treatment for COVID-19 patients.
When will the vaccine be ready for use?
Researchers said that if all clinical trials pass, the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine will be ready for production at the earliest in early September 2020. The AstraZeneca company has set a target to be ready to mass produce vaccines by the end of 2020.
The company has also signed cooperation agreements with various countries to ensure they get adequate doses of the vaccine.
Apart from Astrazeneca, there are several other companies that are also working with institutions that are developing vaccines. The majority of them also set a target of completing and passing tests by the end of the year and completing production in early 2021.
According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), at least there are candidates for the COVID-19 vaccine that are currently in the process of clinical trials around the world. Among them are the COVID-19 vaccines Moderna (United States) and Sinovac Biotech (China) which plan to collaborate with Bio Farma Indonesia in phase 3 clinical trials.
