UK researchers to test Covid-19 vaccine efficacy in people with low immunity

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A new study will be launched in Britain to research the efficacy of coronavirus vaccines in people with low immunity due to health conditions, including cancer, local media reported.</p>
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In the Octave study, up to 5,000 of these patients, from around Britain, will be vaccinated as part of the country's mass rollout, the BBC reported on Wednesday.</p>
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"We urgently need to understand if patient populations with chronic conditions such as cancer, inflammatory arthritis and kidney and liver disease are likely to be well-protected by current Covid-19 vaccines," said lead researcher Iain McInnes, from the University of Glasgow, in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported.</p>
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"The Octave study will give us invaluable new data to help us answer questions of this kind from our patients and their families," it said.</p>
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Trials and real-life data show the current vaccines work well for most adults, including the elderly, but evidence remains little on efficacy in immunocompromised patients.</p>
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More than 20.4 million people in Britain have been given the first jab of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the latest official figures.</p>
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England is currently under the third national lockdown since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country. Similar restriction measures are also in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.</p>
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On February 22, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his long-anticipated "roadmap" exiting the lockdown. Schools in England will reopen from March 8 as the first part of the four-step plan, which Johnson said was designed to be "cautious but irreversible".</p>
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(IANS)</p>