Oxford vaccine ‘will give long term protection’ but might not be ready by winter
A leading scientist behind Oxford University’s potential coronavirus vaccine says studies have been promising and that the jab should last for at least several years.
If approved, Professor Sarah Gilbert told MPs said it could provide better protection than the natural immunity people develop when they catch Covid-19 and recover. Around 8,000 Brits are currently taking part in human trials for the Oxford vaccine, manufactured by pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca.
As cases continue to fall in the UK researchers also hope to vaccinate 4,000 people in Brazil and 2,000 in South Africa. Pressure to develop a working vaccine is mounting amid fears the pandemic could re-intensify towards the end of the year in the northern hemisphere.
Concerns have also been raised as tests have shown people with less dangerous types of coronaviruses, which cause the common cold, could be reinfected within a year. But sharing positive feedback of Oxford’s trials, Prof Gilbert said: ‘Vaccines have a different way of engaging with the immune system, and we follow people in our studies using the same type of technology to make the vaccines for several years, and we still see strong immune responses.
‘It’s something we have to test and follow over time – we can’t know until we actually have the data – but we’re optimistic based on earlier studies that we will see a good duration of immunity, for several years at least, and probably better than naturally-acquired immunity.’
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Chair of the UK Government Vaccine Taskforce Kate Bingham said that, excluding the Oxford vaccine programme, she hoped there would be a breakthrough by early 2021. Prof Gilbert said she hoped that her Oxford vaccine would make progress earlier, but was not more specific as she said the timeline for when the vaccine might be ready depends on the results of the trial.
Urging Britain to prepare for a winter without a coronavirus jab, regius professor of medicine at Oxford University Sir John Bell said: ‘This whole epidemic has relied too heavily on assumptions that have turned out not to be true. So my strong advice is to be prepared for the worst.’
Also giving evidence to the committee, he encouraged people to get their flu vaccinations to avoid ‘pandemonium’ in hospitals.
He explained: ‘I think one of the things that clinical staff in hospitals worry about is if we do have a significant flu season.
‘Then we are going to have a bit of a clinical problem if we’ve also got Covid running alongside because you’ll get people with severe pneumonias arriving with fever and all the usual things, and it’ll be pandemonium in the A&E departments.
‘So, what I’m rather hoping is that first of all we ideally expand the number of people getting flu vaccines so we get better coverage, and secondly we push quite hard to make sure people are compliant and participate in the flu vaccine programmes.
‘The uptake is lamentably small in some countries and I think we’re not messing around anymore. This could be really serious if people don’t get their vaccines.’
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