‘A light at the end of the tunnel’
A LONDON councillor who is participating in a coronavirus vaccine trial said he hoped “there is light at the end of the tunnel”.
Greg Hammond signed up to the Oxford coronavirus vaccine trial run with Astra Zeneca.
He said he was excited by news that the Pfizer vaccine had high success rates in preventing people contracting the virus.
And he thought there could be good news with the trial he is participating in along with 1,101 other volunteers.
Some people receive the Covid vaccine whilst a control group are given a common meningitis job.
The trial vaccine was created by scientists at the University of Oxford, but is being administered at Hammersmith Hospital with the help of Imperial College London, along with other sites in the UK and overseas.
Scientists are hoping to make the body recognise and develop an immune response to help stop the virus from entering human cells and prevent infection.
They started work on a vaccine in January 2020 and hope to have some results by the end of the year if possible.
Councillor Hammond had his first injection in May and had a booster in October.
Volunteers have to keep a detailed seven-day diary following the vaccinations and if they feel unwell over the following three weeks.
“I had no reaction whatsoever to the booster,” he said, but experienced a slight headache after the first injection.
He has also had blood tests and his health will be monitored into next year.
Unlike the Pfizer vaccine which has to be stored at extremely low temperatures he said the Oxford vaccine “does not have to be stored at a much colder temperature.”
Councillor Hammond, who represents the Courtfield ward in south Kensington for the Conservatives, believes he may have had coronavirus last Christmas.
“I’m fairly convinced it was something very similar,” he recalled.
It started with a dry cough and he had a fever which was “so bad I collapsed onto my bed”.
At the time he put it down to a seasonal bug, following weeks of campaigning in the December General Election.
He said this week’s news from Pfizer shows “there’s light at the end of the tunnel, but we’re not there yet”.
However he urged caution as the vaccine has not yet been approved and said people have to carry on taking care to prevent the spread of the virus.
People still need to keep vigilant in following the key public health messages of maintaining space, wearing face coverings and washing their hands frequently to cut the chance of infection.