Coronavirus vaccine released: When will Oxford University coronavirus vaccine be ready?

Coronavirus vaccines will offer new hope for the COVID-19 world, as measures such as lockdown and social distancing stall progress in reopening damaged economies. Oxford University is the most notable frontrunner among the various institutions pursuing a workable jab. But recent announcements from developers suggest they are still some way from completion.

When will the Oxford University coronavirus vaccine be ready for the public?

Oxford University, working in tandem with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, has recently conducted the first phase of trials with its jab.

In April and May, they gave the solution to 1,077 healthy adults aged between 18 and 55 across five UK hospitals, with positive results.

Published in The Lancet on Monday, July 20, they reveal the early doses of the vaccine prompted a strong immune response, stimulating T-cell and antibody activity for up to 56 days after injection.

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Scientists believe a second dose may strengthen initial responses and the vaccine has progressed to phase three trials.

Phase three is the penultimate stage of vaccine development, one before final approval.

But it will take some time before the Oxford and Astrazeneca dose becomes widely available.

Professor Andrew Pollard, who is leading the study at the University of Oxford, said results from the study were promising, but more research was necessary.

He said: “The immune system has two ways of finding and attacking pathogens – antibody and T-cell responses.

“This vaccine is intended to induce both, so it can attack the virus when it’s circulating in the body, as well as attacking infected cells.

“We hope this means the immune system will remember the virus, so that our vaccine will protect people for an extended period.

“However, we need more research before we can confirm the vaccine effectively protects against SARS-CoV-2 infection, and for how long any protection lasts.”

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Researchers believe people will have to wait until mid-2021 before health officials can deliver jabs to the general public.

If researchers can keep to this prospective timeline, their development time will dwarf those of the average vaccine.

Scientists generally look to produce a workable product in years or even decades, but the Oxford jab would debut just one year after the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Theirs would also become the first vaccine of its kind.

Four known coronaviruses currently cause illnesses in humans, among them the common cold, but none have a jab available.

Officials have acted on the progress made by the Oxford study and recently revealed a drive to purchase millions of doses.

They have procured 100 million samples ready for the public.

The Government has also secured early access to 90 million COVID-19 vaccine doses through partnerships with other pharmaceutical companies, including 60 million from Scottish firm Valneva and 30 million of one developed by BioNTech and Pfizer.

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