Indian Express
November 24, 2020
November 20, 2020
Oxford vaccine produces strong immunity even in older adults
https://epaper.tribuneindia.com/c/56477694
Vaccine for general public in April-May if targets met
https://epaper.hindustantimes.com/Home/ArticleView
November 19, 2020
Vitamin D supplement helped Covid- 19 patients: PGI study
https://epaper.tribuneindia.com/2894702/Chandigarh-Tribune/CT-19-November-2020#clip/56447104/e9bd5112-3485-4ad4-8f68-488825090b05/610.6666666666666:900.9675324675325
November 16, 2020
For 9th consecutive day, below-50,000 fresh Covid cases reported 435 more fatalities push the death toll to 1, 30,070
India’s COVID-19 caseload mounted to 88,45,127 with 30,548 infections being reported in a
day while the number of people who have recuperated from the disease surged to 82,49,579,
according to data updated by the Union health ministry on Monday.
The coronavirus death toll climbed to 1,30,070 with 435 new fatalities, the data updated at 8
am showed.
The number of active cases remained below five lakh for the sixth consecutive day.
There are 4,65,478 active cases of coronavirus infection in the country as on date which
comprise 5.26 per cent of the total caseload, the data stated.
The total number of recoveries has surged to 82,49,579, pushing the national recovery rate to
93.27 per cent. The COVID-19 case fatality rate stands at 1.47 per cent.
India’s COVID-19 tally had crossed the 20-lakh mark on August 7, 30 lakh on August 23 and
40 lakh on September 5. It went past 50 lakh on September 16, 60 lakh on September 28, 70
lakh on October 11 and crossed 80 lakh on October 29.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a total of 12,56,98,525 samples
have been tested up to November 15 with 8,61,706 being tested on Sunday.
The 435 new fatalities include 95 from Delhi, 60 from Maharashtra, 51 from West Bengal, 30
from Punjab, and 21 each from Karnataka and Kerala.
The total 1,30,070 deaths reported so far in the country include 45,974 from Maharashtra,
followed by 11,529 from Karnataka, 11,478 from Tamil Nadu, 7,661 from West Bengal, 7,614
from Delhi, 7,372 from Uttar Pradesh, 6,868 from Andhra Pradesh, 4,458 from Punjab and
3,803 from Gujarat.
The Health Ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to
comorbidities.
“Our figures are being reconciled with the Indian Council of Medical Research,” the Ministry
said on its website, adding that state-wise distribution of figures was subject to further
verification and reconciliation.
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/for-9th-consecutive-day-below-50-000-freshcovid-
cases-reported-171067
First batch of Sputnik V vaccine to arrive in Kanpur medical college
Human clinical trials of the vaccine to start from next week
The first batch of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine for COVID-19 is likely to reach Kanpur's Ganesh
Shankar Vidyarthi Medical College by next week wherein the vaccine's Phase 2 and Phase 3
human clinical trials will be conducted.
The decision to conduct the human clinical trials of the vaccine was taken after Dr Reddy's
Laboratories got approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) in this regard,
an official said.
Speaking to PTI, college principal R B Kamal said the human clinical trials of the vaccine will
start from next week.
"As many as 180 volunteers have registered for the trials. Head of the research Saurabh
Agarwal will determine the dosage of the vaccine to be administered. One dose will be
administered and the condition of volunteers will be monitored to determine whether they need
further doses or not," he said.
Kamal said the volunteers' vitals and condition will be checked periodically and the data will
be analysed to determine whether the vaccine is a success or not.
He said the effect of the vaccine on the volunteers will be studied for seven months after the
same is administered once, twice or thrice within an interval of 21 days.
After observing the effects of the vaccine for a month, authorities will be apprised of the results
of the trial, and they will then make a decision accordingly.
The Ethics Committee of the college has also given permission for the trails, he said.
The vaccine has to be kept at a temperature of -20 to -70 degrees Celsius.
In September, Dr Reddy's and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Russia's sovereign
wealth fund, entered into a partnership to conduct clinical trials of Sputnik V vaccine and its
distribution in India.
As part of the partnership, RDIF shall supply 100 million doses of the vaccine to Dr Reddy's
upon regulatory approval in India.
On August 11, the Sputnik V vaccine was registered by the Ministry of Health of Russia and
became the world's first registered vaccine against COVID-19 based on the human adenoviral
vector platform.
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/health/first-batch-of-sputnik-v-vaccine-to-arrive-inkanpur-
medical-college-170672
J&J starts two-dose trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate
Rival drugmakers Pfizer and BioNtech said last week that their potential
COVID-19 shot showed more than 90%efficacy
The U.S. drugmaker plans to enrol up to 30,000 participants for the study. Reuters photo.
Johnson & Johnson launched a new large-scale late-stage trial on Monday to test a two-dose
regimen of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine and evaluate potential incremental benefits for
the duration of protection with a second dose.
The U.S. drugmaker plans to enrol up to 30,000 participants for the study and run it in parallel
with a one-dose trial with as many as 60,000 volunteers that began in September.
The UK arm of the study is aiming to recruit 6,000 participants and the rest will join from other
countries with a high incidence of COVID-19 cases such as the United States, Belgium,
Colombia, France, Germany, the Philippines, South Africa and Spain, it said.
They will be given the first dose of either a placebo or the experimental shot, currently called
Ad26COV2, followed by a second dose or placebo 57 days later, said Saul Faust, a professor
of paediatric immunology and infectious diseases who is co-leading the trial at University
Hospital Southampton.
The trial follows positive interim results from the company's ongoing early to mid-stage
clinical study that showed a single dose of its vaccine candidate induced a robust immune
response and was generally well-tolerated.
"The study will assess efficacy of the investigational vaccine after both the first and second
dose to evaluate protection against the virus and potential incremental benefits for duration of
protection with a second dose," J&J said in a statement.
Rival drugmakers Pfizer and BioNtech said last week that their potential COVID-19 shot
showed more than 90% efficacy in interim data from a late-stage trial, boosting hopes that
vaccines against the pandemic disease may be ready for use soon.
While the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine uses a new technology known as messenger RNA, J&J's
uses a cold virus to deliver genetic material from the coronavirus into the body to prompt an
immune response.
The platform, called AdVac, is also used in an Ebola vaccine that was approved earlier this
year.
"It's really important that we pursue trials of many different vaccines from many different
manufacturers and be able then to ensure the supply both to the UK and global population,"
Faust told reporters at a briefing.
Recruitment into the study will complete inMarch 2021 and the trial will last for 12 months.
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/health/jj-starts-two-dose-trial-of-its-covid-19-vaccinecandidate-
171083
Steroid treatment should be reserved for sickest COVID-19 patients, say scientists
While dexamethasone and other steroids are prescribed to treat cytokine
storms, scientists say these drugs can backfire in patients whose immune
response is already suppressed.
Most adults with moderate-to-severe COVID-19 have a suppressed immune response against
the novel coronavirus rather than life-threatening hyper-inflammation, according to a study
which suggests steroids such as dexamethasone should be reserved for the sickest patients.
Scientists, including those from St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the US, assessed the
levels of the immune system protein cytokines and other health markers in 168 adults with
COVID-19, 26 adults with flu and 16 healthy volunteers.
They said more than 90 per cent of the COVID-19 patients were hospitalised and about half in
the intensive care unit (ICU) while more than half of flu patients were admitted for treatment
and 35 per cent were in the ICU.
According to the research, published in the journal Science Advances, fewer than 5 per cent of
the COVID-19 patients, including some of the sickest individuals, had the life-threatening,
hyperinflammatory immune response known as the cytokine storm syndrome.
The researchers explained that cytokine storms develop when excess or abnormally regulated
levels of cytokine proteins in the body lead to hyperinflammation and tissue damage.
While dexamethasone and other steroids are prescribed to treat cytokine storms, they said these
drugs could backfire in patients whose immune response was already suppressed.
“We did identify a subset of COVID-19 patients with the broadly upregulated array of
cytokines. But, overall, the average person with COVID-19 had less inflammation than the
average person with flu,” said study co-author Paul Thomas from St. Jude Children’s Research
Hospital.
Based on the findings, the scientists said treatment suppressing inflammation might only be
effective in a minority of patients with the hyperinflammatory profile.
They believe the need of the hour is a fast, reliable, and inexpensive test to measure cytokines
and identify patients who are most likely to benefit from dexamethasone treatment.
“Directing immunosuppressive therapies to the small subset of COVID-19 patients who have
an overactive immune response is the only way to know if these approaches are ultimately
helpful,” said Philip Mudd, another co-author of the study from the Washington University
School of Medicine in the US.
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/health/steroid-treatment-should-be-reserved-for-sickestcovid-
19-patients-say-scientists-170671
New compounds to potentially treat novel coronavirus identified'
They said the compounds can disrupt the SKI protein complex in the human body.
Researchers have discovered new drug compounds that target a protein which enables the novel
coronavirus and other viruses with the pandemic potential to replicate in human cells.
Researchers have discovered new drug compounds that target a protein which enables the novel
coronavirus and other viruses with the pandemic potential to replicate in human cells, an
advance that may lead to new therapeutics for COVID-19.
According to the researchers, including those from the University of Maryland in the US, these
compounds disrupt the functioning of a protein complex inside human cells that are critical for
the replication and survival of coronaviruses, including the one that causes COVID-19.
The scientists believe the findings, published in the journal PNAS, could lead to the
development of new broad-spectrum antiviral drugs that target viruses such as influenza, Ebola
and coronaviruses like SARS-CoV-2.
They said the compounds can disrupt the SKI protein complex in the human body which
regulates various aspects of the functioning of a cell.
In the current study, the researchers discovered that this complex also plays a crucial role in
helping a virus replicate its genetic material, RNA, within the cells it infects.
"We determined that disrupting the SKI complex keeps the virus from copying itself, which
essentially destroys it," said study co-author Matthew Frieman from the University of
Maryland.
"We also identified compounds that targeted the SKI complex, not only inhibiting
coronaviruses but also influenza viruses and filoviruses, such as the one that causes Ebola,"
Frieman said.
Using computer modelling, the researchers identified a binding site on the SKI complex and
identified chemical compounds that could attach to this site.
From further experimental analysis, they showed that these compounds have antiviral activity
against coronaviruses, influenza viruses, and filoviruses such as Ebola.
"These findings present an important first step in identifying potential new antivirals that could
be used to treat a broad number of deadly infectious diseases," said study lead author Stuart
Weston, also from the University of Maryland.
Such drugs have the potential to treat infectious disease associated with future pandemics, the
scientists added.
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/health/new-compounds-to-potentially-treat-novelcoronavirus-
identified-170655
Radiology holds the key in detection of coronavirus
Contribution of radiologists has become more pronounced during pandemic
Radiology has assumed enormous significance in diagnosis and prognostication during the
COVID-19 pandemic and lakhs of people are slowly but surely becoming aware of HRCT
Scan, a diagnostic test conducted by the radiology department.
Although people seldom interact directly with the radiologists, the role that the latter plays
before COVID-19 is confirmed as well as during treatment post recovery is undeniable. Their
contribution has become more pronounced during the pandemic.
In case of emergency cases such as severe head injury in road accidents, surgeries are taken up
after assessment by radiologists using CT Scan or any other radiological investigations. When
a person enters a diagnosis room, they usually interact with radiographers or technologists, or
supporting staff. The radiographers conduct the process ofmaking a patient or a person undergo
the scanning procedure under guidance of the specialists.
“The radiographers or technologists send us images of CT Scan or MRI Scan and other
radiological investigation reports.We read the images and note down the observations. In case
of emergency cases, if a patient needs immediate surgery or other treatment, we immediately
call the surgeon or physician after going through the scanning images,” said Ravuri Power,
general secretary of Indian Radiological and Imaging Association-Telangana chapter. The
World Radiology Day was observed on November 8.
Immediate assessment
Usually, for immediate assessment, the radiology department is placed next to the emergency
or casualty ward of a hospital.
When COVID-19 cases started to increase in March and a few months thereafter, undergoing
tests was a challenge in the State. Private labs were allowed to conduct tests to detect presence
of the virus from mid-June. Until then, doctors in private hospitals heavily relied on High
Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT) Scan reports to assess if a suspected patient had
the virus.
Apart from HRCT Scan, radiological investigations used for diagnosing COVID are chest
radiograph (X-Ray) and ultra sonography.
Dr Ravuri said that COVID has a specific Computed Tomography (CT) imaging finding which
helps them in accurate diagnosis of the infectious disease. “Hence, it is useful for excluding
other infections based on specific chest imaging findings. Besides, physicians manage
treatment protocols based on report from radiologists,” he said.
During the treatment too, CT scanning can detect Pulmonary Thrombo Embolism or Cerebral
Venous Thrombosis which are blood clots in major blood vessels of the lungs and brain
respectively. “These COVID-associated complications have high rate of morbidity and, at
times, mortality,” Dr Ravuri said.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/radiology-holds-the-key-in-detection-ofcoronavirus/
article33061659.ece
November 09, 2020
November 06, 2020
Smaller cough droplets may travel over 6 metres: study
These findings are also greatly dependent on the environmental conditions, such as wind
speed, humidity levels, and ambient air temperature
Scientists have analysed the dispersion of coughs using air flow simulation and found that
some smaller droplets, which are easily carried by the wind, travel up to 6.6 metres and even
further under dry air conditions.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led many researchers to study airborne droplet transmission in
different conditions and environments.
Scientists from A-STAR’s Institute of High Performance Computing in Singapore conducted
a numerical study on droplet dispersion using high fidelity air flow simulation.
The research, published in the journal Physics of Fluids, found that a single 100-micrometre
cough droplet under wind speed of 2 metres per second can travel up to 6.6 metres and even
further under dry air conditions due to droplet evaporation.
“In addition to wearing a mask, we found social distancing to be generally effective, as
droplet deposition is shown to be reduced on a person who is at least 1 meter from the
cough,” said study author Fong Yew Leong.
The researchers used computational tools to solve complex mathematical formulations
representing air flow and the airborne cough droplets around human bodies at various wind
speeds and when impacted by other environmental factors.
They also assessed the deposition profile on a person at a certain proximity. A typical cough
emits thousands of droplets across a wide size range. The scientists found large droplets
settled on the ground quickly due to gravity but could be projected 1 metre by the cough jet
even without wind.
Medium-sized droplets could evaporate into smaller droplets, which are lighter and more
easily borne by the wind, and these travelled further, they said.
The researchers offer a more detailed picture of droplet dispersion as they incorporated the
biological considerations of the virus, such as the non-volatile content in droplet evaporation,
into the modelling of the airborne dispersion of droplets.
“An evaporating droplet retains the non-volatile viral content, so the viral loading is
effectively increased,” said study author Hongying Li. “This means that evaporated droplets
that become aerosols are more susceptible to be inhaled deep into the lung, which causes
infection lower down the respiratory tract, than larger unevaporated droplets.”
These findings are also greatly dependent on the environmental conditions, such as wind
speed, humidity levels, and ambient air temperature, and based on assumptions made from
existing scientific literature on the viability of the COVID-19 virus, the researchers said.
The findings could be applied to designing environments that optimise comfort and safety,
such as hospital rooms that account for indoor airflow and airborne pathogen transmission.
https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/smaller-cough-droplets-may-travel-over-6-
metres-study/article33021701.ece?homepage=true
Artificial intelligence helps better predict mouth cancer risk
Oral cancer is often detected late which means that the patient survival rates are poor.
Artificial intelligence (AI) may help doctors better predict the risk of patients developing oral
cancer by ensuring accuracy, consistency and objectivity, according to researchers from the
University of Sheffield in the U.K.
The researchers are examining the use of AI and machine learning — the study of computer
algorithms that improve automatically through experience — to assist pathologists and
improve the early detection of oral cancer.
The rate of people being diagnosed with oral cancers including mouth, tongue, tonsil and
oropharyngeal cancer, has increased by almost 60% in the last 10 years, the researchers said
in a statement.
Evidence suggests tobacco and alcohol consumption, viruses, old age as well as not eating
enough fruit and vegetables can increase the risk of developing the disease, they said.
Oral cancer is often detected late which means that the patient survival rates are poor.
Currently, doctors must predict the likelihood of pre-cancerous changes, known as oral
epithelial dysplasia (OED), developing into cancer by assessing a patient’s biopsy on 15
different criteria to establish a score. This score then determines whether action is needed and
what treatment pathway should be taken. However, this score is subjective, which means
there are often huge variations in how patients with similar biopsy results are treated.
For example, one patient may be advised to undergo surgery and intensive treatment, while
another patient may be monitored for further changes.
The precise grading of OED is a huge diagnostic challenge, even for experienced
pathologists, as it is so subjective, said Dr. Ali Khurram, Senior Clinical Lecturer at the
University of Sheffield’s School of Clinical Dentistry.
“At the moment, a biopsy may be graded differently by different pathologists. The same
pathologist may even grade the same biopsy differently on a different day, Khurram noted.
He said correct grading is vital in early oral cancer detection to inform treatment decisions,
enabling a surgeon to determine whether a lesion should be monitored or surgically removed.
“Machine learning and AI can aid tissue diagnostics by removing subjectivity, using
automation and quantification to guide diagnosis and treatment,” Khurram said. “Until now
this hasn’t been investigated, but AI has the potential to revolutionise oral cancer diagnosis
and management by ensuring accuracy, consistency and objectivity.”
Samples of archived OED tissue samples with at least five years of follow up data will be
used in order to train AI algorithms and learn the statistical correlations between certain
classifiers and survival rates. These algorithms will aid pathologists in their assessment of
biopsies helping them to make a more informed and unbiased decision about the grading of
the cells and the patient’s treatment pathway.
The proposed algorithms have a strong translational angle and a potential to be rapidly
deployed as an aid to clinical and diagnostic practice worldwide.
“People often feel threatened by AI, however rather than replacing a doctor’s expertise,
exceptionally high-level of training and experience, the technology can help to assist their
decision-making and compliment their skills,” said Khurram. “This will help them to give a
more accurate assessment and enable them to recommend the most beneficial treatment
pathway for individual patients which we hope will help to improve survival rates.”
According to Professor Nasir Rajpoot, from the University of Warwick in the U.K., the pilot
project will pave the way towards the development of a tool that can help identify premalignant
changes in oral dysplasia, which is crucial for the early detection of oral cancer.
“Successful completion of this project carries significant potential for saving lives and
improving patient healthcare provision, said Rajpoot, one of the researchers.
https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/artificial-intelligence-helps-better-predict-mouthcancer-
risk/article33028342.ece?homepage=true
November 05, 2020
Scientists identify COVID-19 patients who recover quickly, sustain antibodies
Five of the individuals were hospitalised but all others recovered at home,
the study noted.
Scientists identify COVID-19 patients who recover quickly, sustain antibodies
Researchers have found that a subset of COVID-19 patients who recover faster have a
persistent antibody response against the novel coronavirus, an advance which sheds more light
on the functioning of the immune system and may aid in the development of vaccines against
the disease.
The scientists, including those from Brigham and Women's Hospital in the US, examined
patients who had recovered from mild to moderate COVID-19 and found that while antibodies
against the virus declined in most people over time, some individuals sustained their production
several months following infection.
According to the researchers, previous studies had provided conflicting accounts about whether
people recovering quickly from the viral infection can sustain potentially-protective antibodies
or not.
The results of the current study, published in the journal Cell, noted that these antibody
"sustainers" had a shorter course of symptoms, suggesting that some individuals who recover
from COVID-19 faster may be mounting a more effective and durable immune response to the
virus.
"We've found a subset of individuals that heal quickly while sustaining virus-specific antibody
levels after COVID-19," said Duane Wesemann, a co-author of the study from Brigham and
Women's Hospital.
In the research, the scientists recruited and enrolled 92 people in the Boston area in the US who
had recovered from COVID-19 between March and June of 2020.
Five of the individuals were hospitalised but all others recovered at home, the study noted.
The researchers collected and analysed blood samples monthly, measuring a range of
antibodies, including immunoglobulin-G (IgG), against the novel coronavirus.
They split the cohort into two groups -- those that sustain virus-specific IgG levels over several
weeks, and those that lose them -- and analysed these groups and potential connections they
had to the clinical data.
The study found that IgG levels against the virus tended to decline substantially in most
individuals over the course of three to four months.
However, the antibody production remained stable or enhanced in about 20 per cent of
individuals over the same time period.
According to the scientists, these "sustainers" had symptoms for a significantly shorter period
of time compared to "decayers"—average of 10 days versus 16 days.
They said the sustainers also had differences in memory T cell populations and B cells—two
types of immune cells that can play a key role in immune memory and protection.
"The data point to a type of immune response that's not only adept at handling viral disease by
leading to a swift resolution of symptoms, but also better at producing cells that can commit to
longer term production of anti-virus IgG antibodies," Wesemann said.
"Figuring out how these individuals are able to support longer-term antibody production is
relevant to COVID-19, and will also have important implications for our understanding of the
immune system in general," he added.
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/health/scientists-identify-covid-19-patients-who-recoverquickly-
sustain-antibodies-165913
COVID-19 lung damage caused by persistence of 'abnormal cells', say scientist
The research also showed the long-term persistence of the viral genome in
respiratory cells and in cells lining the blood vessels, along with the infected
cell syncytia.
COVID-19 lung damage caused by persistence of 'abnormal cells', say scientists
Photo for representation only. Source: iStock.
Scientists have analysed organ samples from deceased COVID-19 patients and found extensive
lung damage in most cases caused by the persistence of abnormal "fused cells," an advance
which sheds more light on the progression of the disease.
The researchers, including those from King's College London in the UK, examined lung, heart,
liver, and kidney samples of 41 patients who died of COVID-19 to examine the behaviour of
the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.
In the study, published in the journal eBioMedicine, they revealed the unique characteristics of
the virus that may explain why some patients experience disease symptoms for months --
known as 'long COVID'—with a feeling of fatigue and lack of breath.
The findings show extensive lung damage in most cases, with patients experiencing profound
disruption of the normal lung structure and the transformation of respiratory tissue into fibrotic
material.
According to the scientists, nearly 90 per cent of the patients showed additional characteristics
that were quite unique to COVID-19 compared to other forms of pneumonia.
They said there was extensive blood clotting of the lung arteries and veins, and several lung
cells were abnormally large with many nuclei, resulting from the fusion of different cells into
single large cells.
The researchers noted that this formation of fused cells—syncytia—is due to the viral spike
protein, which the virus uses to enter the cell.
When the protein is present on the surface of cells infected by the COVID-19 virus, the study
noted that it stimulates their fusion with other normal lung cells, which can be a cause for
inflammation and thrombosis.
The research also showed the long-term persistence of the viral genome in respiratory cells and
in cells lining the blood vessels, along with the infected cell syncytia.
According to the researchers, the presence of these infected cells can cause the major structural
changes observed in lungs, which can persist for several weeks or months, and could eventually
explain 'long COVID'.
"The findings indicate that COVID-19 is not simply a disease caused by the death of virusinfected
cells but is likely the consequence of these abnormal cells persisting for long periods
inside the lungs," said Mauro Giacca, a co-author of the study from King's College London
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/health/covid-19-lung-damage-caused-by-persistence-ofabnormal-
cells-say-scientists-165949
Oxford COVID-19 vaccine results due next month, raising hopes of 2021 rollout
Unclear if vaccine will be rolled out before Christmas
UK expects Oxford, Pfizer data in early December
The University of Oxford hopes to present late-stage trial results on its COVID-19 vaccine
candidate this year, raising hopes that Britain could start to roll out a successful vaccine in late
December or early 2021.
A vaccine that works is seen as a game-changer in the battle against the coronavirus, which has
killed more than 1.2 million people worldwide, shuttered swathes of the global economy and
turned normal life upside down for billions of people.
"I'm optimistic that we could reach that point before the end of this year," Oxford Vaccine Trial
Chief Investigator Andrew Pollard told British lawmakers of presenting trial results this year.
Pollard said working out whether or not the vaccine worked would likely come this year, after
which the data would have to be carefully reviewed by regulators and then a political decision
made on who should get the vaccine.
"Our bit - we are getting closer to but we are not there yet," Pollard, director of the Oxford
Vaccine Group, said.
Asked if he expected the vaccine would start to be deployed before Christmas, he said: "There
is a small chance of that being possible but I just don't know."
The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is expected to be one of the first from big pharma to be
submitted for regulatory approval, along with Pfizer and BioNTech's candidate.
"If I put on my rose-tinted specs, I would hope that we will see positive interim data from both
Oxford and from Pfizer/BioNTech in early December and if we get that then I think we have
got the possibility of deploying by the year end," Kate Bingham, the chair of the UK Vaccine
Taskforce, told lawmakers.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there was the prospect of a vaccine in the first quarter of
2021.
‘Game changer’
Work began on the Oxford vaccine in January. Called AZD1222, or ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, the
viral vector vaccine is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus that causes
infections in chimpanzees.
The chimpanzee cold virus has been genetically changed to include the genetic sequence of the
so-called spike protein which the coronavirus uses to gain entry to human cells. The hope is
that the human body will then attack the novel coronavirus if it sees it again.
If Oxford's vaccine works, it would eventually allow the world to return to some measure of
normality after the tumult of the pandemic.
Asked what success looked like, he said: "I think good is having vaccines that have significant
efficacy - so whether, I mean, that is 50, 60, 70, 80 per cent, whatever the figure is - is an
enormous achievement.
"It means from a health system point of view, there are fewer people with COVID going into
hospital, that people who develop cancer can have their operations of chemotherapy – it’s a
complete game changer and a success if we meet those efficacy end points."
But Pollard, one of the world's top experts on immunology, said the world might not return to
normal immediately.
"...It takes time to roll out vaccines. Not everyone will take them," he said. "We will still have
people getting this virus because it is just too good at transmitting.
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/health/oxford-covid-19-vaccine-results-due-next-monthraising-
hopes-of-2021-rollout-165957
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