Oxford results due in weeks as hopes soar

RESULTS from the Oxford vaccine may be available within weeks, as experts said the Pfizer announcement raised hopes that other jabs would also prove successful.

There are dozens of vaccine trials under way throughout the world, and most are focussing on the spike protein that helps the virus attach to cells in the body.

The Pfizer Biontech vaccine results have proven that targeting the protein can prevent people from picking up the disease, suggesting other vaccines will also work.

Yesterday, Sir John Bell, who is leading the Oxford vaccine team, said results were due within weeks.

In an interview on the BBC’S World at One programme, he said: “Data from our first interim analysis is also likely to be available in the very near future, and by that I mean weeks not months.

“There lots of diseases where making vaccines have proved to be almost impossible, but they’ve managed to break through with this with a very, very good result.”

Prof Robin Shattock leads Imperial College London’s Covid-19 vaccine project, which is based on the same technology as the Pfizer vaccine, and said it was good news for all candidates.

“Really encouraged to see this exciting announcement,” he said. “Assuming it’s supported by the data then this not only represents a potential breakthrough for Pfizer Biontech, but also for vaccines in general.

“Hopefully this is the first of many vaccine candidates to be seen to work – a significant light at the end of the tunnel.”

Jonathan Van-tam, the deputy chief medical officer, said the announcement was a “huge milestone” because it proved that targeting the spike protein was effective at preventing infection.

“The current vaccine targets the

‘Hopefully this is the first of many vaccine candidates to be seen to work – a light at the end of the tunnel’

S-protein of coronavirus and, so far, all we knew is that vaccines could give us antibodies, but we did not know if vaccines would prevent disease,” he said.

“So this is a huge milestone. More importantly it is good news for many of the vaccines to come, because almost all target the S-protein so this like getting to the end of the play-off final, it’s gone to penalties.

“The first player goes up, scores the goal. You haven’t won the cup yet, but what it does is it tells you that the goalkeeper can be beaten. And that’s where we are today, that first sign.”