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HEALTH-VIRUS-VACCINES-OXFORD
Oxford Covid vaccine safe for older adults: results
PARIS, Nov 19, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – A leading Covid-19 vaccine candidate has
shown to safely produce a robust immune response in healthy older adults, its
British makers said Thursday as it released its phase 2 trial results.
The vaccine, developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca,
produced fewer side effects in people aged 56 and over than in younger people
— a significant finding given that Covid-19 disproportionately causes severe
illness among seniors.
The manufacturers said the vaccine was undergoing larger, more
comprehensive phase 3 trials to confirm the results.
Immune responses from vaccines tend to lessen as people get older as the
immune system gradually slows with age.
This leaves older adults more vulnerable to infection from a variety of
illnesses.
“As a result, it is crucial that Covid-19 vaccines are tested in this
group who are also a priority group for immunisation,” Andre Pollard, an
Oxford professor and lead author of the study results, published in The
Lancet.
The phase 2 trial saw 560 participants, 240 of whom were over 70, split
into groups that received either one or two doses of the vaccine, or a
placebo.
They had their immune responses assessed on the day of the vaccination,
then several more times over the coming weeks.
Responses were “similar” across all age groups, the researchers said.
“The research shows that an immune response was generated in all age
groups, including in the cohort of participants aged over 70 years,” said
Michael Head, senior research fellow in Global Health at the University of
Southampton, who was not involved in the trial.
“Since elderly populations will be one of the priority groups to receive a
vaccine when one is available, this is good news.”
The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is one of 48 that are undergoing human
trials against Covid-19, according to the World Health Organization.
This month Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna announced the results of phase 3
trials — which are much larger than phase 2 and normally include tens of
thousands of subjects — that suggested both vaccine candidates were
effective in preventing Covid-19.
BSS/AFP/BZC/1820HRS