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Oxford’s experimental vaccine against Covid-19 is safe and induces immune response.

Preliminary results from phases 1 and 2 trials of the vaccine against the new coronavirus developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca suggest that it is safe and induces an immune response.

According to an article published Monday (July 20) in the British medical journal The Lancet, the experimental vaccine AZD1222 prompted an antibody response within 28 days and a T-cell response within 14 days. Neutralizing antibodies – so-called because they can neutralize the virus – were detected in most participants after only one shot, and, in all of them, after two.

During a recent hearing at the U.S. Congress, Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca’s CEO, stated that the company plans to supply the vaccine at cost price (around € 2.5 per unit) worldwide. In case the vaccine is approved in clinical trials, it is expected to be available at any time from September.

The AZD1222 vaccine is in phase 3 of development – the last phase before regulatory approval and distribution – and began to be tested late June in Brazilian volunteers, in a study involving the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) and the D’or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR). At the same time, the Ministry of Health announced an agreement for national production of the vaccine.

According to official data, Brazil is currently the world’s second most affected country by the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 2.1 million confirmed cases and more than 81,000 deaths.

The full text article can be accessed in https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)31604-4/fulltext.

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