Oxford Covid-19 Vaccine: Trials Produce Robust Immune Response In Elderly,Report

AstraZeneca’s vaccine has produced a robust immune response in elderly people, the Financial Times reported.According to the report, a vaccine  considered a frontrunner in the race to protect the global population from Covid-19 has produced a robust immune response in elderly people, the group at highest risk from the disease, according to two people familiar with the finding.The discovery that the vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford, in collaboration with AstraZeneca, triggers protective antibodies and T-cells in older age groups has encouraged researchers as they seek evidence that it will spare those in later life from serious illness or death from the virus. Age has emerged as the principal risk factor for a severe bout of Covid-19. However, the immune system weakens with age, raising concerns that the very group which most needs the protection of a vaccine may generate the least effective response to one. People aware of the results from so-called immunogenicity blood tests carried out on a subset of older participants say the findings echo data released in july which showed the vaccine generated “robust immune responses” in a group of healthy adults aged between 18 and 55. The earlier findings showed that the vaccine induced two forms of human immune response — generating both antibodies and T-cells — for at least 56 days, according to an analysis published in The Lancet. However, researchers have been encouraged by the latest development, details of which are shortly to be published in a clinical journal. The University of Oxford declined to comment. The outcome of the trials is being closely watched around the world.
The US arm of the Oxford/AstraZeneca study was given the go-ahead to resume on Friday, having been halted since September 6 after a participant developed neurological symptoms.