COVID-19: Oxford’s AstraZeneca-backed vaccine may be available in 2 months

Coronavirus has affected over 1.4 million people across the globe. The world is eagerly waiting for a vaccine to be available. Currently, there are over 150 different vaccine candidates in different trial stages around the world, as per the World Health Organisation.

So far, the University of Oxford has come up with a vaccine candidate that seems to be the most promising one. It has shown positive results in its initial trials, as per the various reports. The conclusion of the vaccine candidate is to be published today in the weekly medical journal – The Lancet.

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Richard Horton, the editor of The Lancet tweeted on Sunday, “Tomorrow. Vaccines. Just saying.”

The vaccine candidate has been developed by the Jenner Institute, which is a part of the Nuffield Department of Medicine at the University of Oxford. It is officially known as AZD1222. Its formulation has been backed by AstraZeneca PLC, a British-Swedish pharmaceutical company.

As per the media reports, the Jenner Institute’s candidate vaccine may provide “double protection” against the Coronavirus infection. The vaccine might trigger the production of the antibodies and killer T-cells in the body.

Killer T-cells are said to last much longer as they recognise and kill the virus-infected cells, preventing it from infecting the human body further.

Some reports suggest that the AstraZeneca-backed COVID-19 vaccine candidate may be available by September. According to a report published in Press Trust of India, David Carpenter, Chairman of the Berkshire Research Ethics Committee, which approved the Oxford trial said, “Nobody can put final dates… things might go wrong but the reality is that by working with a big pharma company, that vaccine could be fairly widely available around September and that is the sort of target they are working on.”