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We were told that, at best, we would see a vaccine for COVID-19 in 2021, provided everything went to plan, human testing produced positive results, and the virus didn’t pull a fast one and mutate.

Thanks to the evidence coming out of Sweden, we know that herd immunity is a very risky approach.

A vaccine is our best hope for beating this thing, which is why the news that British scientists reckon they might have cracked the code is unexpected, but most welcome.

Sky News reports:

British scientists thought to be leading the global race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine are reportedly also close to a major breakthrough on a life-saving antibody treatment.

The Oxford University team have been confident about their work on a vaccine for coronavirus, with millions of doses already being manufactured by pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca in the expectation that it will work.

A separate project, thought to create an antibody treatment for those most vulnerable to the disease, is also underway, and moving at “full speed”.

But while an effective antibody treatment could be vital for some, [Pascal Soriot, chief executive of AstraZeneca] told The Sunday Telegraph the vaccine remains the priority.

He added that production for antibody therapies is far more expensive than it is for vaccines.

Soriot reckons that scientists will know by July whether or not the Oxford vaccine will work.

Furthermore, AstraZeneca has signed deals that will ensure millions of doses can be manufactured and distributed worldwide.

One is with Microsoft founder Bill Gates, to supply doses to low and middle-income countries; the other is with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

Around 30 million could be made available in the UK as early as September, Downing Street has said.

More on Bill Gates from The Next Web:

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has contributed $750 million towards the manufacturing and distribution [of the vaccine].

The move is in line with Gates‘ strategy for fast-tracking a COVID-19 vaccine: simultaneously develop seven vaccines and hope one of them works — even if it “wastes” billions of dollars.

While all of this is great news, scientists have cautioned that there might be a waiting period before the vaccine will be available.

Back to Sky News:

The vaccine, named ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, is made from a weakened version of the common cold virus, which causes infections in chimpanzees.

The virus has been manipulated to not cause harm to humans, but contains part of COVID-19 so to trigger the body’s immune response to the virus’s spike proteins, which it uses to enter human cells and multiply.

I can think of worse ways to start the week than with the news that there’s hope for a return to normal in the coming months.

Godspeed, Oxford.

[source:skynews&nextweb]