As the University of Oxford coronavirus vaccine has been found to be safe and effective in early trials, excitement is mounting as it continues to go through further tests before it gets regulatory approval.
The news was branded "encouraging" by the scientific community after the findings were published in the medical journal, The Lancet, on Monday.
It says: "Our preliminary findings show that the candidate ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine given as a single dose was safe and tolerated."
No serious adverse reactions to ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 occurred. The majority of adverse events reported were mild or moderate in severity, and all were self-limiting.
The study showed that a single dose of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 elicits an increase in spike-specific antibodies by day 28 and neutralising antibody in all participants after a booster dose.
Professor Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at Oxford University, warned there’s “still a long way to go” on a Covid-19 vaccine despite the positive results.
Speaking at a Science Media Centre webinar, she said: “We still need to see how the vaccine performs in older people who are more at risk of severe disease than the people who were vaccinated in this study, so that’s the subject of future work.”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock praised the work of British health officials, saying they had “played a blinder” and claiming the virus was “on the back foot”.
The government has secured 100 million doses of the Oxford vaccine which is being developed in partnership with AstraZeneca, as well as another at Imperial College London which began clinical trials last month.
Separately, agreement has been reached for 30 million doses of coronavirus vaccine from German firm BioNTech and the US company Pfizer, and 60 million doses from France's Valneva.
Speaking at a daily Downing Street press conference last month, Mr Hancock explained that two groups of people will be prioritised once a vaccine is found.
Front line health and social care workers and those at an increased risk of serious disease and death from the virus will go first, Mr Hancock said.
The latter group include adults over the age of 50, and those with heart and kidney disease.
He said they would continue to take into account which groups may be most vulnerable, including those from BAME backgrounds, before allocating a vaccine.
Speaking at the daily briefing on June 18, Mr Hancock said: "In the long run, the best way to defeat this virus is of course the discovery of a vaccine.
"And since the start we have been supporting the most promising projects. As of this week, the Imperial vaccine is now in the first phase of human clinical trials.
"AstraZeneca has struck a deal for the manufacture of the Oxford vaccine.
"They are starting manufacturing now, even ahead of approval so we can build up a stockpile and it be ready should it be clinically approved.
"We are starting the manufacture of the Oxford vaccine now so that it will be ready should the science come off."
Mr Hancock said the government had (in June) published the way in which they propose to prioritise people for access to a vaccine - as soon as one comes available.
"Just as we did for testing, we will be guided by the clinical science, prioritising those most in need," he added.
"A joint committee on vaccination and immunisation has published its interim advice, and recommend priority vaccination for two groups.
"They are front line health and social care workers and those at increased risk of serious disease and death from coronavirus - including adults over the age of 50, and those with heart and kidney disease.
"As we learn more about the virus, we will continue to take into account which groups may be particularly vulnerable including those for example, from ethnic minority backgrounds.
"So we can protect the must at risk first should a vaccine become available, and get this country back on its feet as soon as we possibly can."
Mr Hancock said the government's approach to vaccines is to 'throw everything at it as fast as we can,' and 'rigorously test' to make they they are safe before deployment.
