Hopes rise for vaccine to be available ‘by Christmas’

A VACCINE to end the coronavirus pandemic could be available by Christmas following a breakthrough by scientists.

Oxford University yesterday published results showing the vaccine it is developing is safe and provides ‘double protection’ against Covid-19.

In a trial of more than 1,000 volunteers, everyone given the jab had a strong immune response. It is not yet known if the vaccine can stop people getting or spreading coronavirus. This will be revealed in the coming weeks after further research.

But in a vital first step, it has exceeded expectations by producing both the antibodies which stop coronavirus getting into cells and the killer T-cells which rapidly destroy infected cells to prevent further spread.

British prime minister Boris Johnson tweeted that the trial results were ‘very positive news’.

Hopes of a vaccine being ready this year had been dented after a dramatic fall in cases of coronavirus made it harder to tell in clinical trials if the jab was preventing people from getting the disease.

But following yesterday’s results, Professor Adrian Hill, director of the Jenner Institute at Oxford University, said a vaccine could be ready by the end of the year.

He added: ‘Even if it worked by early November – and it might be a little before that – you might have emergency use authorisation in a month, and then you would be deploying in December.’

The results raise hopes that, if the vaccine is found to prevent people falling ill with coronavirus, it could be available for those most at risk by the end of the year.

That could see the elderly, healthcare workers and those with health conditions that put them at greater risk contacted by their GP to get a jab.

AstraZeneca is aiming to produce two billion doses to be distributed worldwide. However, as promising as the vaccine appears, experts caution that the immunity it provides may still not be strong enough to beat coronavirus.

It may also be less effective in older people, who are among those being given the vaccine in the next large-scale trial of more than 10,000 volunteers.