The early-stage human trial data of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University reveals that it is safe and induces immune response, with mild side effects in some participants.

The preliminary results of the phase I/II trial, published in The Lancet journal, involving 1107 people show that the injection led to them making antibodies and T-cells that can fight coronavirus.
Prof Andrew Pollard, from the Oxford research group said, the results are promising.

The study showed 90 percent of involved people developed neutralising antibodies after one dose.

Only ten people were given two doses and all of them produced neutralising antibodies.

Prof Sarah Gilbert, from the University of Oxford, UK, said there is still much work to be done but these early results hold promise.

The vaccine – called ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 – is being developed at unprecedented speed.

It is made from a genetically engineered virus that causes the common cold in chimpanzees.