Good News: Oxford Coronavirus Vaccine Passes Phase I and II Trials now what next?
Oxford Coronavirus Vaccine : With trial results of Oxford’s vaccine being released a hope arises that the world will soon be free from Coronavirus. On 20th July, the result of Phase I and Phase II human trials of vaccine developed by Oxford University in collaboration with Astrazeneca were published in the Lancent Medical Journal. As per the report, the Coronavirus vaccine candidate was found to be safe and induces immune reaction in body.
Scientists across the world have been racing against time to develop a safe vaccine for coronavirus, as the pandemic has wrecked-havoc world-wide, and has claimed over 608k lives. With many countries reaching a level of community spread, a vaccine is the need of the hour, as mere containment and lockdowns won’t prove to be as effective anymore.
On Monday, 20th July when the trial results of Vaccine AZD1222 developed by Oxford University was released, it was the most promising result towards the discovery of Coronavirus vaccine. The result shows that the vaccine candidate produces both antibody and T Cells in human body. Therefore, the vaccine is believed to provide double defence against the virus. However, there are still questions about how long will the vaccine be able provide defence against the virus?
Oxford Coronavirus Vaccine : Phase III Trials
The Phase III trials of the vaccine have started. The trials will be conducted in United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa. Around 8-10K candidates are believed to take part in Phase III trial of the vaccine. If the trial is successful, the Oxford Vaccine Group expects to launch the Covid-19 vaccine by the end of this year. The Phase III of the vaccine trial is expected to continue upto August.
India’s Serum Institute is also part of this of Oxford’s vaccine development program. Soon after the results were published, Serum institute released a statement that it will be applying for regulatory approvals for clinical trials in India and soon start the manufacturing of vaccine in large volumes.
In another recent development in India, the trial for the Indigenous COVAXIN begun. 12 institutes have been selected by the ICMR for the first phase of the trials. Around 375 volunteers will be tested for the vaccine, and a whopping 100 will be from AIIMS.
World-wide, more than 135+ vaccines are in a preclinical trial. As many as 4 are in the phase III trials. On an average, around 26 vaccines are in human trials.People have been hoping for positive results in this trial so that the vaccines can be distributed as early as possible. India has been reporting a huge surge in the number of coronavirus patients every day, and there seems to be no relief coming soon. A vaccine can help prevent uncountable number of infections and deaths world-wide.
Since there is still time for a vaccine to develop, the only option people have is to take adequate precautions, and follow the government-issued guidelines so as to stay safe from the virus. proper sanitization and maintenance of hygiene will reduce the chances of getting infected. Also, proper following of social distancing is imperative. People have been having a coronavirus fatigue, and are exhausted by following the guidelines and regulations, but to curb the spread of the virus, following them are important.
Good News: Oxford Coronavirus Vaccine Passes Phase I and II Trials now what next?