RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Covid-19 vaccine under development at Oxford University in the UK is entering its third round of clinical trials this week, in which at least 10,000 people will be vaccinated across the country to determine its effectiveness.
Among the over 70 immunizing agents currently under development worldwide, this is considered the most advanced and also the most promising. Leading the trial at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine is a 37-year-old Brazilian immunologist, Daniela Ferreira, who specializes in respiratory infections and vaccine development.
The focus on this immunizing agent is such that, although still far from being approved, the product is already being produced on a large scale. “We went from stage one to stage three in just two months,” says the Brazilian researcher.
The goal is to have as many doses as possible ready for distribution as soon as the product is approved, thus avoiding a potential new delay in protecting the world’s population.
“The goal is not to compete with other countries,” explained Daniela in an interview with Estadão newspaper. “This is now a global effort, with all scientists sharing knowledge in real time. The vaccine is intended for the whole world; international cooperation is needed and solidarity, it cannot be driven by commercial interests and prices”.
The Oxford vaccine is part of studies that had already been conducted for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), also caused by a coronavirus. As a result, the safety of the substance had already been partially tested, which allowed the process to be somewhat expedited.
A genetic material similar to that of a specific protein of the novel coronavirus, which is mainly responsible for the infection, is added to an attenuated virus (adenovirus) of the common flu.
Experts hope that the vaccine will induce the production of antibodies, enabling the body to recognize the virus in the future, preventing its access.
To ensure that this third large-scale trial stage does not take too long, Oxford has called on 18 research centers throughout the UK to test the immunizing agent. Scientists are recruiting health professionals as a priority, as they are the people most easily exposed to the novel coronavirus.
In a trial of this kind, no one will be deliberately infected; rather. people should be exposed naturally. Half of the volunteers will be given the product that is a candidate for the new vaccine. The other half will be given a vaccine from the same platform (adenovirus) as the Covid-19 vaccine.
Deadline
Daniela refused to estimate when the vaccine would be ready. “Those numbers come back to bite you. But what I can tell you is that between two and six months we’ll know if the vaccine is effective.” The major issue, as the immunologist explains, is that an effective vaccine is not enough.
“We need to know if it can be produced quickly and on a large scale, if it will be globally affordable, if it will be reasonably priced, or if it can be distributed for free. In short, all this is considered,” she said. “For instance, there is no point in having a vaccine that protects very well but that is only available to a million people.”
Source: Estadão Conteúdo