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 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, trials are ongoing to confirm the
findings, researchers said, and to test whether the vaccine protects
against infection with SARS-CoV-2 in a broad 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, adding it was
too early to know whether and how well the vaccine works in
preventing COVID-19 disease.
"We haven't quite got to that point yet. We're obviously not going
to rush that," he told BBC radio. "We're getting close, and it's
definitely going to be before Christmas, based on the progress."
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The Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine candidate, called AZD1222 or ChAdOx1
nCoV-19, had been among the front-runners in global efforts to develop shots to
protect against infection with the novel coronavirus, or SARS-CoV-2.
But rival drugmakers Pfizer Inc, BioNTech and Moderna Inc have in the past 10
days edged ahead, releasing data from late-stage COVID-19 vaccine trials that
shows more than 90% efficacy.
Unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna shots, both of which use new technology
known as messenger RNA (mRNA), AstraZeneca's is a viral vector vaccine made from
a weakened version of a common cold virus found in chimpanzees.
The Phase II trial reported in The Lancet involved a total of 560 healthy
volunteers, with 160 aged 18-55 years, 160 aged 56-69 years, and 240 aged 70 or
over.
Volunteers got two doses of the vaccine or a placebo, and no serious side
effects related to the AZD1222 vaccine were reported, the researchers said.
AstraZeneca has signed several supply and manufacturing deals with companies and
governments around the world.
(Reporting by Kate Kelland; Additional reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by
Matthew Lewis and Alexander Smith)
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