A couple of months ago I wrote about a coronavirus vaccine in the works from Oxford University in the UK. Some people in that camp believed that a vaccine could be ready by as early as September.
And while we don’t yet know about a definite timeline, it looks like the trials taking place in Oxford are showing some great early signs.
Not only does the vaccine they are working on look like it could be effective but it also could last for several years.
Professor Sarah Gilbert who runs the trials at Oxford stated that the experimental vaccine has been found to generate antibody levels up to three times more than patients who recovered from coronavirus.
At this point, they are hopeful to see a reasonable duration of immunity and think that it will probably be even better than naturally acquired protection.
This trial is a pretty large vaccine trial taking place in the UK. Approximately 8,000 Britons enrolled in the vaccine trial that is being manufactured by AstraZeneca.
And now that the infections have gone down in the UK, the researchers are trying to get 4,000 Brazilians and 2,000 South Africans involved with the study.
Apparently, they still have a ways to go before the vaccine can really takeoff but at this time it appears to be a viable vaccine candidate based on its tolerability and safety profile.
The jury is still out on whether or not an individual can get coronavirus a second time. We still just don’t know enough about how the antibodies work to conclusive state either way it seems.
So naturally people will want to know if a vaccine will be able to protect individuals from becoming reinfected.
Some believe that these type of vaccine jabs may not prevent infection altogether but they could play a key role in reducing the severity of symptoms.
We still have not heard specific timelines on when these vaccines could be deployed on a widespread basis so hopefully those details will be coming sometime soon.
In any event, it is encouraging to see early positive results from these trials especially as it relates to safety.
It sounds like things are on the right track.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.