Oxford coronavirus vaccine works perfectly, builds strong immunity: Study

The Covid-19 vaccine developed at the University of Oxford which Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd will "exclusivly distribute" in Bangladesh, appears perfect and builds strong immunity to the virus.

Earlier, Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd also known as Beximco Pharma has announced that it would invest with Serum Institute of India (SII) for the development of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine (AZD1222).

Unlike the traditional vaccines which use a weakened virus, or small amounts of it, the innovative Oxford jab causes the body to make part of the virus itself. The findings are hugely promising, Daily Mail reported.

Researchers led by the University of Bristol have found this daring technology works for the coronavirus, just as it has for similar viruses in the past.

A study using cells in the laboratory found the vaccine effectively delivers the instructions for the Covid protein, which cells copy thousands of times to produce it in large amounts. This means a person's immune system is then primed to recognise the disease and fight it off without them falling ill. 

"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," Dr David Matthews from Bristol's School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine (CMM), who led the research, said.

Scientists found instructions from the vaccine were copied accurately by cells, making the protein correctly.

Sarah Gilbert, who leads the Oxford University vaccine trial, said, "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."

The results were released as the Chief Scientific Adviser warned a widespread roll-out of a vaccine for Covid-19 is unlikely to take place before next year, even if a 'few doses' are available before Christmas. 

In other coronavirus developments: 

• The UK today announced another 21,242 positive tests and 189 deaths as Sir Patrick Vallance claimed 90,000 could be catching the virus every day;
• Welsh supermarkets have been ordered to only sell 'essential goods' during the country's 17-day lockdown; 
• Shocking official figures today show that 17 per cent of firms in the accommodation and food services industry are at 'severe' risk of insolvency; 
• South Yorkshire agreed a deal to move into Tier 3 from Saturday, meaning 7.3million in England will be living under the toughest Covid rules; 
• Boris Johnson sought to bypass Andy Burnham by offering £60million of coronavirus help directly to local councils in Greater Manchester;
• Five  hospitality industry bodies in Scotland have launched legal action against Nicola Sturgeon's Covid-19 shutdown measures on pubs and restaurants;
• The Canary Islands, Mykonos, the Maldives and Denmark were all added to the UK's list of travel corridors but Alpine tax haven Liechtenstein was removed; 
• Hospitals stepped up the cancellation of routine surgery and non-Covid appointments as virus cases rose.

"Things are progressing well, there are vaccines that produce an immune response, they're in phase three clinical trials, we should be seeing some data read-outs over the course of this year, but I remain of the view that the possibility of wider-spread use of vaccines isn't going to be until spring or so next year, by the time we get enough doses and enough understanding of the outputs to use them," Speaking at the Downing Street press conference, Sir Patrick Vallance said.

Sir Patrick said that the aim would be for a vaccine to allow the "release" of measures such as social distancing and mask-wearing.

He said, "That's got to be an aim that we would all wish for, and that's why so many companies around the world are working on vaccines and why there has been such remarkable progress."

The UK's chief scientific adviser also told peers this week that he thought Covid-19 would probably never disappear and that a vaccine won't stop it completely. 

Sir Patrick also said he thought the virus will one day become like flu and cause outbreaks each year, and added that ministers and experts should stop 'over-promising' and be realistic about the prospects of a vaccine. 

It is not likely that a jab will be completed before spring, Sir Patrick said, echoing his earlier warnings and those of his colleague Chris Whitty that the Covid-19 fight will be a long one.

In the same meeting, Sir Patrick said he still believes a flu pandemic is the biggest threat to the UK and that his office has set up a second system in case there is another crisis before the coronavirus epidemic comes to an end.  

"I think it's unlikely that we will end up with a truly sterilising vaccine – i.e. something that completely stops infection – and it's likely that the disease will circulate and be endemic," Sir Patrick said in a meeting of the Lords' National Security Strategy Committee.

'That's my best assessment and I think that's the view of many people on SAGE that that's a likely outcome.

"Clearly, as management becomes better, as you get vaccination which will decrease the chance of infection and the severity of disease, or whatever the profile of the vaccines are, this then starts to look more like annual flu than anything else.

An endemic virus is one that circulates constantly and never completely goes away. Examples of illnesses caused by endemic viruses include common colds, flu, HIV, chickenpox, cold sores and malaria. 

While they all have treatments or ways to protect people from catching them, the viruses cannot be completely wiped out because they're already so widespread.