Pig trial of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine shows promise with two shots

LONDON (Reuters) – A trial of AstraZeneca’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine in pigs has found that two doses of the Oxford University-developed shot produced a greater antibody response than a single dose, scientists said on Tuesday.

Research released by Britain’s Pirbright Institute found that giving an initial prime dose followed by a booster dose of the shot elicited a greater immune response than a single dose – suggesting a two-dose approach may be more effective in getting protection against the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

The ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine was originally developed by researchers at the University of Oxford, who are now working with AstraZeneca on development and production.

The vaccine is already in mid-stage human trials, and AstraZeneca has said it hopes to have data showing efficacy later this year.

Pigs are a useful research model for this type of vaccine and other trials have been able to predict vaccine outcomes in humans, particularly in studies of flu.

(Reporting by Kate Kelland, editing by Jason Neely)