Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, said the Oxford vaccine announcement was “really encouraging news”.
He told Sky News: “I am really very pleased, I really welcome these figures, this data, which shows that the vaccine in the right dosage can be up to 90 per cent effective.
“Of course it’s vital the independent regulator, the MHRA, will look at the data and will need to check to make sure it’s effective and safe…
“But we’ve got 100 million doses on order, and should all that go well the bulk of the roll out will be in the new year.”
He added this “home grown vaccine” is easier to administer than the Pfizer vaccine as it does not need to be stored a -70 °C.
– No volunteers required hospital treatment
Professor Andrew Pollard has said that no one who had received the Oxford vaccine in the trials had required hospital treatment for Covid-19.
“We are really pleased with these results,” he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
“What we have got is a vaccine that is able to protect against coronavirus disease and, importantly, there were no hospitalisations or severe cases in anyone who had the Oxford vaccine.
“So, that means that if we did have people vaccinated then certainly so far the results imply that we would be able to stop people getting severe disease and going into hospital.”
