The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University produces a strong immune response in older adults, which is positive news considering vaccines don’t always work well with older individuals, data from early trials has shown.
Over 500 healthy adult volunteers took part in the phase two trials and it was said that “volunteers in the trial demonstrate similar neutralising antibody titres, and T cell responses across all three age groups (18-55, 56-79, and 70+)”.
The positive news comes after Pfizer announced its vaccine was 94% effective among adults over 65, raising hopes that a way out of this pandemic was possible.
Dr Maheshi Ramasamy, an investigator at the Oxford Vaccine Group, said: “We were pleased to see that our vaccine was not only well tolerated in older adults, but also stimulated similar immune responses to those seen in younger volunteers.
“The next step will be to see if this translates into protection from the disease itself.”
“The robust antibody and T-cell responses seen in older people in our study are encouraging,” Dr Ramasamy added.
“The populations at greatest risk of serious Covid-19 disease include people with existing health conditions and older adults.
“We hope that this means our vaccine will help to protect some of the most vulnerable people in society, but further research will be needed before we can be sure.”
More information – https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)32466-1/fulltext
