Oxford scientists had envisioned a million doses of vaccine to be produced by September (Representation)
London:
The University of Oxford’s possible COVID-19 vaccine could be deployed by the end of the year, but there is no certainty that will happen, the lead vaccine developer said on Tuesday.
The experimental vaccine, which was licensed to AstraZeneca, produced an immune response in early-stage clinical trials, data showed on Monday, giving hope that it could be used by the end of the year.
“The end of year target for vaccine rollout is a possibility, but there is absolutely no certainty about that because we need three things,” Sarah Gilbert told BBC Radio .
She said it needed to be shown to work in late-stage testing, to be manufactured in large quantities, and to regulators to quickly agree to clear it for emergency use.
“These three things have to happen and come together before we can start to see large numbers of people vaccinated,” she said.
Oxford scientists had envisioned a million doses of the potential vaccine to be produced by September.
Although the deal with AstraZeneca provided the manufacturing capacity to do so, the low prevalence of the novel coronavirus in Britain has complicated the process of proving its effectiveness.
Advanced stage trials are underway in Brazil and South Africa and are expected to start in the United States.
“The crucial thing is that we have enough people exposed to the virus who have also received the vaccine that we can actually determine if it prevents disease and remains safe,” John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at the University of Oxford , told BBC Radio.
“We are optimistic, especially given the low incident rates in the UK, that those recruited in Brazil and South Africa will ultimately be able to provide us with the data.”
There are no approved vaccines against COVID-19, but the World Health Organization has said AstraZeneca’s vaccine is one of the main candidates.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Sarah Young and Nick Macfie)
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
