Hope as two COVID-19 vaccines prove strong immune reactions

With cases of Coronavirus rising across the world there is still a glimmer of hope as two COVID-19 vaccine candidates have proven safe for humans. The vaccines produced strong immune reactions among patients involved in two separate clinical trials, doctors said Monday.

The first trial among more than a thousand adults in Britain found that the vaccine-induced “strong antibody and T cell immune responses” against the novel coronavirus.

A separate trial in China involving more than 500 people showed most had developed widespread antibody immune response.

The studies, published in The Lancet medical journal, constitute a major step on the road towards a COVID-19 vaccine that is effective and safe for widespread use.

The authors of the studies said they encountered few adverse side effects from the vaccine candidates.

They did, however, caution that more research was needed, particularly among older adults, who are disproportionately at risk of dying of COVID-19.

Co-author Sarah Gilbert from the University of Oxford said the results “hold promise”.

“If our vaccine is effective, it is a promising option as these types of vaccine can be manufactured at large scale.”