A coronavirus or COVID-19 vaccine that is developed at Oxford University is 'doing everything expected' and is also provoking strong immunity to the virus, as per a study. The vaccine that many hope is going to beat the ongoing fight against the pandemic is understood to have safely triggered an immune response in the volunteers who took part in the trials.
An expert of virology at Bristol University, David Matthews said that the vaccine is working as expected. "This is an important study as we are able to confirm that the genetic instructions underpinning this vaccine, which is being developed as fast as safely possible, are correctly followed when they get into a human cell," he said.
Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine
"Until now, the technology hasn't been able to provide answers with such clarity, but we now know the vaccine is doing everything we expected and that is only good news in our fight against the illness," he added as reported by the Mirror. These instructions detail the way to make the spike protein from the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease. Once the spike protein gets made, the immune system reacts to it, pre-training the immune system for identifying the coronavirus infection.
Sarah Gilbert, the professor of vaccinology at the University of Oxford and the lead on the Oxford vaccine trial said it is an example of cross-disciplinary collaboration using the latest technology for examining exactly what the vaccine does when it goes inside the human cell. "The study confirms that large amounts of the coronavirus spike protein are produced with great accuracy, and this goes a long way to explaining the success of the vaccine in inducing a strong immune response," she added. The research was not peer-reviewed by other scientists.
The deadly virus outbreak has created a major stir around the world in recent times infecting more than 41.6 million people globally and has claimed the lives of over 1.1 million people worldwide in more than 170 countries. A vaccine is expected by the first quarter of 2021.
