Oxford scientists: these are the final steps we’re taking to get our coronavirus vaccine approved
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Of the hundreds of potential Covid-19 vaccines in development, six are in the final stages of testing, known as phase three clinical trials. One of these — ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 — is the vaccine we’re developing at the University of Oxford.
To be approved, vaccines need to go through multiple rounds of testing to show that they’re safe and effective. A combined phase one and phase two trial of the Oxford vaccine has demonstrated that it is safe — with only short-term side-effects and no serious unexpected events reported — and that it elicits an immune response.
The purpose of a phase three trial is to assess whether this vaccine-induced immune response is strong enough to actually protect people from Covid-19. Proving this would pave the way for the vaccine to become publicly available.
How a phase three trial works
Usually a phase three trial has two groups, one receiving the vaccine being tested and the other a placebo or “control” injection, for example saline or a vaccine against a different disease.
To show that the vaccine is effective, there should be significantly fewer cases of the target disease in the vaccinated group compared with the control group. Depending on infection rates for the disease, a phase three vaccine trial may involve thousands to tens of thousands of volunteers.
For ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, clinical trial volunteers are located in countries across five continents: the UK, Brazil, South Africa, the US and India.
The vaccine is being evaluated in these different regions and populations of the world to ensure that results of the trial are “generalisable” — that is, that its findings can be said to apply to people outside of the groups tested.
In the UK we’re testing the vaccine in health workers, as they’re more likely to be exposed to infection than the general population. The trial there also includes volunteers from the public who are over 70. Older people are at higher risk of developing severe disease, so it’s important to know if they respond to the vaccine.
Oxford and our international partners have already vaccinated approximately 17,000 people in the first three countries selected (the UK, Brazil and South Africa), with half receiving a control vaccine.
Most volunteers are receiving a booster vaccination one to three months after the first, as data from our phase one/two trial indicates that this strengthens the immune response — although it’s not yet ...
To be approved, vaccines need to go through multiple rounds of testing to show that they’re safe and effective. A combined phase one and phase two trial of the Oxford vaccine has demonstrated that it is safe — with only short-term side-effects and no serious unexpected events reported — and that it elicits an immune response.
The purpose of a phase three trial is to assess whether this vaccine-induced immune response is strong enough to actually protect people from Covid-19. Proving this would pave the way for the vaccine to become publicly available.
How a phase three trial works
Usually a phase three trial has two groups, one receiving the vaccine being tested and the other a placebo or “control” injection, for example saline or a vaccine against a different disease.
To show that the vaccine is effective, there should be significantly fewer cases of the target disease in the vaccinated group compared with the control group. Depending on infection rates for the disease, a phase three vaccine trial may involve thousands to tens of thousands of volunteers.
For ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, clinical trial volunteers are located in countries across five continents: the UK, Brazil, South Africa, the US and India.
The vaccine is being evaluated in these different regions and populations of the world to ensure that results of the trial are “generalisable” — that is, that its findings can be said to apply to people outside of the groups tested.
In the UK we’re testing the vaccine in health workers, as they’re more likely to be exposed to infection than the general population. The trial there also includes volunteers from the public who are over 70. Older people are at higher risk of developing severe disease, so it’s important to know if they respond to the vaccine.
Oxford and our international partners have already vaccinated approximately 17,000 people in the first three countries selected (the UK, Brazil and South Africa), with half receiving a control vaccine.
Most volunteers are receiving a booster vaccination one to three months after the first, as data from our phase one/two trial indicates that this strengthens the immune response — although it’s not yet ...