The world is breathing a sigh of relief after scientists at Oxford University, in a paper published in The Lancet, said their experimental COVID vaccine had been shown to trigger a protective immune response in hundreds of people who got the shot.
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As good news for India, Trials for the coronavirus vaccine developed at the Oxford University will begin in India as soon as a license is procured, said the Indian firm partnering the researchers in the UK.
The vaccine AZD1222 had a favorable response in the first phase of clinical trials. It did not prompt any serious side effects and elicited antibody and T-cell immune responses, according to trial results published in The Lancet medical journal.
The researchers said the vaccine caused minor side effects, but some of these could be reduced by taking paracetamol.
The University of Oxford is working with the UK-based global biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca for the further development, large-scale manufacture, and potential distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine, with plans for clinical development and production of the Oxford vaccine progressing globally.
Serum Institute of India plans to start Human trials of Oxford vaccine in India by August
AstraZeneca has partnered with nine companies across the globe and committed to the production of 2 billion doses once the vaccine is ready to be rolled out.
India's Serum Institute, the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world, has been chosen by Oxford and its partner AstraZeneca to manufacture the vaccine once it gets ready.
Adar Poonawalla, chief of the Serum Institute of India, the world's largest vaccine manufacturer which is partnering the Oxford researchers, said the trials "have shown promising results and we are extremely happy about it".
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"We will be applying for the licensure trials to the Indian regulator in a week's time. As soon as they grant us permission, we will begin with the trials for the vaccine in India. In addition, we will soon start manufacturing the vaccine in large volumes," he added.
In an interview with the Hindustan Times, Adar Poonawala also said that they are planning to start the Human trials of Oxford COVID Vaccine by August 2020, once they get approval from DCGI.
SII is planning to produce at one billion doses of the AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine over the next one year at its Pune facility and the vaccine will be for India and middle- and low- income countries across the world