A landmark study by scientists at the University of Oxford, has unveiled crucial insights into the way that COVID-19 vaccines mitigate severe illness in those who have been vaccinated.
Despite the global success of COVID-19 vaccination campaigns, concerns remain around the continued spread of this disease including in vaccinated individuals. For this reason, researchers at the Oxford Vaccine Group conducted an extensive investigation into the human immune response to COVID-19, in both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.
Employing contemporary “big-data” analyses, scientists can find novel associations between fundamental biological entities and indicators of the severity of a disease — to build patterns of health and disease. Results of this study categorically show a reduction in indicators of disease severity in those who had received the vaccine, demonstrating that the harmful inflammatory reaction to COVID-19 is less severe in those who have been vaccinated, when compared with those who haven’t.
Professor Daniel O’Connor, Head of Bioinformatics at the Oxford Vaccine Group (OVG), led the study. He said: “These results confirm the efficacy of vaccination and its pivotal role in reducing the harmful consequences associated with COVID-19. The results of our research highlight the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine’s ability to modulate harmful responses to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and therefore to reduce the severity of illness. The implications of these findings are far-reaching, offering evidence that is fundamental to future vaccine development and pandemic mitigation strategies. It also provides valuable guidance for policymakers and public health experts.”
Better understanding of how vaccines can reduce the severity of infections caused by viruses like COVID-19 is a key part of our preparedness to make effective vaccines against the next pandemic threat. Ongoing research is critical as we know the next one is coming but we don’t know which virus or when it will be.”
Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, Ashall Professor of Infection and Immunity and Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group
The study employed state-of-the-art technologies, including RNA-sequencing (to capture the level of genes produced by blood cells), to achieve these results. While the findings are promising, the study acknowledges limitations such as a focus on mild cases and sample size constraints, highlighting the need for further research utilising advanced techniques to enhance resolution.
Key findings from the study include:
- Identification of unique responses to COVID-19 among vaccinated individuals, highlighting the vaccine’s influence on responses to this disease.
- Demonstrated reduction in harmful responses associated with COVID-19 severity in recipients of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine compared with unvaccinated counterparts.
- COVID-19 in vaccinated individuals resulted in less COVID-19-induced blood cell count changes.
- Correlation between decreased levels of a particular class of molecules in blood (microRNAs) and elevated levels of inflammation, suggesting a regulatory role for these molecules in inflammatory responses to viral infection.
Funding for the study was provided by various organisations, including the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, and Oxford Nanopore Technologies. Notably, the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 randomised controlled trials received support from UK Research and Innovation, NIHR, Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, among others.
News
A Forgotten Molecule Could Revive Failing Antifungal Drugs and Save Millions of Lives
Scientists have uncovered a way to make existing antifungal drugs work again against deadly, drug-resistant fungi. Fungal infections claim millions of lives worldwide each year, and current medical treatments are failing to keep pace. [...]
Scientists Trap Thyme’s Healing Power in Tiny Capsules
A new micro-encapsulation breakthrough could turn thyme’s powerful health benefits into safer, smarter nanodoses. Thyme extract is often praised for its wide range of health benefits, giving it a reputation as a natural medicinal [...]
Scientists Develop Spray-On Powder That Instantly Seals Life-Threatening Wounds
KAIST scientists have created a fast-acting, stable powder hemostat that stops bleeding in one second and could significantly improve survival in combat and emergency medicine. Severe blood loss remains the primary cause of death from [...]
Oceans Are Struggling To Absorb Carbon As Microplastics Flood Their Waters
New research points to an unexpected way plastic pollution may be influencing Earth’s climate system. A recent study suggests that microscopic plastic pollution is reducing the ocean’s capacity to take in carbon dioxide, a [...]
Molecular Manufacturing: The Future of Nanomedicine – New book from Frank Boehm
This book explores the revolutionary potential of atomically precise manufacturing technologies to transform global healthcare, as well as practically every other sector across society. This forward-thinking volume examines how envisaged Factory@Home systems might enable the cost-effective [...]
New Book! NanoMedical Brain/Cloud Interface – Explorations and Implications
New book from Frank Boehm, NanoappsMedical Inc Founder: This book explores the future hypothetical possibility that the cerebral cortex of the human brain might be seamlessly, safely, and securely connected with the Cloud via [...]
Global Health Care Equivalency in the Age of Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine and Artificial Intelligence
A new book by Frank Boehm, NanoappsMedical Inc. Founder. This groundbreaking volume explores the vision of a Global Health Care Equivalency (GHCE) system powered by artificial intelligence and quantum computing technologies, operating on secure [...]
Miller School Researchers Pioneer Nanovanilloid-Based Brain Cooling for Traumatic Injury
A multidisciplinary team at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine has developed a breakthrough nanodrug platform that may prove beneficial for rapid, targeted therapeutic hypothermia after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Their work, published in ACS [...]
COVID-19 still claims more than 100,000 US lives each year
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers report national estimates of 43.6 million COVID-19-associated illnesses and 101,300 deaths in the US during October 2022 to September 2023, plus 33.0 million illnesses and 100,800 deaths [...]
Nanomedicine in 2026: Experts Predict the Year Ahead
Progress in nanomedicine is almost as fast as the science is small. Over the last year, we've seen an abundance of headlines covering medical R&D at the nanoscale: polymer-coated nanoparticles targeting ovarian cancer, Albumin recruiting nanoparticles for [...]
Lipid nanoparticles could unlock access for millions of autoimmune patients
Capstan Therapeutics scientists demonstrate that lipid nanoparticles can engineer CAR T cells within the body without laboratory cell manufacturing and ex vivo expansion. The method using targeted lipid nanoparticles (tLNPs) is designed to deliver [...]
The Brain’s Strange Way of Computing Could Explain Consciousness
Consciousness may emerge not from code, but from the way living brains physically compute. Discussions about consciousness often stall between two deeply rooted viewpoints. One is computational functionalism, which holds that cognition can be [...]
First breathing ‘lung-on-chip’ developed using genetically identical cells
Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute and AlveoliX have developed the first human lung-on-chip model using stem cells taken from only one person. These chips simulate breathing motions and lung disease in an individual, [...]
Cell Membranes May Act Like Tiny Power Generators
Living cells may generate electricity through the natural motion of their membranes. These fast electrical signals could play a role in how cells communicate and sense their surroundings. Scientists have proposed a new theoretical [...]
This Viral RNA Structure Could Lead to a Universal Antiviral Drug
Researchers identify a shared RNA-protein interaction that could lead to broad-spectrum antiviral treatments for enteroviruses. A new study from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), published in Nature Communications, explains how enteroviruses begin reproducing [...]
New study suggests a way to rejuvenate the immune system
Stimulating the liver to produce some of the signals of the thymus can reverse age-related declines in T-cell populations and enhance response to vaccination. As people age, their immune system function declines. T cell [...]
