A trial volunteer said it was a “great feeling” to be involved in the development process as new data suggested a UK-developed vaccine could be up to 90 per cent effective.
Sarah Hurst, 47, took part in the AstraZeneca and Oxford University research, receiving two jabs of either the experimental vaccine or a placebo.
She said there was a “tiny sense of pride” at her involvement but paid tribute to the scientists and researchers who developed the vaccine.
Ms Hurst, a journalist from Goring-on-Thames in South Oxfordshire, said: “It’s really the developers and everyone who’s done all the work, all the medical students who are constantly all day meeting the vaccine participants and testing them and being on the front line.
“But it’s good, it’s a great feeling to help to make a vaccine.”
Ms Hurst, who said she felt no side-effects from her two jabs, said the results are “promising” and noted that “the fact that it doesn’t need to be chilled at a very low temperature and is cheaper than the other vaccines will help in making it easier to distribute”.
But she added: “People have only been vaccinated for a few months so I would still want to know what are going to be the results after a year? Is it going to be effective after a year?
“That’s something you really just have to wait for.”
