Scientists at the University of Oxford say their experimental COVID-19 vaccine shows a strong immune response among older people.The early results raise hopes that the vaccine can protect the people most at risk of getting severely ill from the new coronavirus.Dr. Andrew Pollard leads the University of Oxford study.He told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on Thursday that he was "delighted" that early results show a strong immune response "even in those over 70 years of age."Dr Maheshi Ramasamy of the Oxford Vaccine Group added that the next step will be to see if the immune response means protection from the disease itself.The results came from a Phase 2 study of 560 volunteers, including 240 people aged 70 or older.One group of the volunteers was given two treatments of the vaccine, called ChAdOx1.Findings from the study were published Thursday in the medical paper The Lancet for scientific review.The Oxford vaccine uses a harmless, weakened adenovirus to carry genetic material from the new coronavirus into the body.
