Oxford Researchers Begin Testing COVID-19 Vaccine in Human Volunteers

Researchers at the University of Oxford (Oxford, UK) have begun testing a COVID-19 vaccine in human volunteers in a trial involving 1,110 people, with half receiving the vaccine and the other half (control group) receiving a widely available meningitis vaccine (MenACWY).

In March this year, the researchers had begun screening healthy volunteers (aged 18-55 years) for their upcoming ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine trial. The vaccine is based on an adenovirus vaccine vector and the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, and has been produced in Oxford. The study to test a new vaccine against COVID-19 in healthy volunteers aims to assess whether healthy people can be protected from COVID-19 with the new ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine. It will also provide valuable information on safety aspects of the vaccine and its ability to generate good immune responses against the virus.

ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 is made from a virus (ChAdOx1), which is a weakened version of a common cold virus (adenovirus) that causes infections in chimpanzees, that has been genetically changed so that it is impossible for it to grow in humans. Genetic material has been added to the ChAdOx1 construct that is used to make proteins from the COVID-19 virus (SARS-CoV-2) called Spike glycoprotein (S). This protein is usually found on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 and plays an essential role in the infection pathway of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus uses its spike protein to bind to ACE2 receptors on human cells to gain entry to the cells and cause an infection.

By vaccinating with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, the researchers are hoping to make the body recognize and develop an immune response to the Spike protein that will help stop the SARS-CoV-2 virus from entering human cells and therefore, prevent infection.

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