The RECOVERY Trial, the world’s largest randomised trial of potential COVID-19 treatments, has been announced as the 2021 winner of The British Medical Journal’s prestigious UK Research Paper of the Year Award. The award recognises original UK research that has the potential to contribute significantly to improving health and healthcare. The paper, “Dexamethasone in Hospitalized Patients … Read more
News for COVID-19
Moonshot initiative to develop affordable COVID-19 antivirals gets funding boost
The COVID Moonshot, a non-profit, open-science consortium of scientists from around the world dedicated to the discovery of globally affordable and easily-manufactured antiviral drugs against COVID-19 and future viral pandemics has received key funding of £8 million from the Wellcome Trust, on behalf of the Covid-19 Therapeutics Accelerator. “Faced with global vaccine inequality and the … Read more
MAIT Cell activation may play role in COVID-19 deaths, study finds
Oxford researchers have found a correlation between deaths from COVID-19 infections and a poorly coordinated systemic immune response, as well as increased activity by Mucosal Associated Invariant T cells, or ‘MAIT cells’. A study involving Oxford BRC-supported researchers published in PLOS Pathogens suggests there is a link between inflammatory responses in the body and increased mortality. In … Read more
Study investigates responses to COVID-19 treatment in chronic lymphoid leukaemia patients
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to understandable anxiety within the blood cancer community about how their illness may affect their ability to overcome COVID-19 infection. Members of the Oxford Centre for Haematology have led a collaborative research project looking at the response of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) who were infected with COVID-19. The … Read more
New study launched to understand vaccine escape
Oxford researchers will be involved in a major new study seeking to understand why some people become infected after vaccination or prior infection while others do not Oxford BRC-supported investigators already involved in the Protective Immunity from T-Cells in Healthcare workers (PITCH) study will be part of a consortium of academic partners involved in the … Read more
Vaccination still best protection, but less effective against Delta variant, study finds
The latest findings of an ongoing national study of COVID-19 immunity in households across the UK has found that the Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines offer good protection against new infections of the Delta variant of concern, but that effectiveness is reduced compared with the Alpha variant. The COVID-19 infection survey, led by Oxford University and … Read more
Second study confirms benefits of budesonide in early stages of COVID-19
A UK-wide clinical study has confirmed the findings of an earlier Oxford BRC-supported study showing that the early treatment with the inhaled asthma medication budesonide speeds up recovery from COVID-19 and reduces the risk of hospitalisation and death. The latest study – part of the PRINCIPLE trial, which is looking at potential treatments for COVID-19 … Read more
BRC-supported study receives Best Research Paper Award
A leading cardiology journal has named an academic paper written by Oxford BRC-supported researchers as its best research paper of 2020. The paper – which found that two common heart medication do not increase the risk of COVID-19 hospitalisation – was named by the BMJ Heart journal as the Heart Best Research Paper Award 2021 … Read more
Liver problems common among COVID-19 patients, study finds
A study by Oxford University researchers has found that liver problems are common among patients with COVID-19. Patient data revealed that baseline hypoalbuminemia (an possible indication that the liver is producing low levels of albumin) and rising alkaline phosphatase (ALP), which can be a sign of liver damage, could be prognostic markers for death. However, the … Read more
Oxford studies benefit from government funding of long COVID research
Thousands of people suffering with long COVID will benefit from new research programmes backed by £19.6 million to help better understand the condition, improve diagnosis and find new treatments. Among the 15 studies that will receive government funding through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is the EXPLAIN study, supported by the NIHR Oxford … Read more
COVID-19 risk prediction tool wins national award
A COVID-19 risk prediction tool, developed with support from the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) has won the Florence Nightingale Award for Excellence in Healthcare Data Analytics. The QCovid® COVID-19 Population Risk Assessment tool was developed by a cross-organisational team and rolled across NHS England. Awarded jointly by the Health Foundation and the Royal … Read more
Delayed second dose and third doses of the Oxford vaccine lead to heightened immune response to COVID-19
A longer delay of up to 45 weeks between the first and second dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine leads to enhanced immune response after the second dose, the latest research by the Oxford Vaccine Group has found. They also found that a third dose given more than six months after the second dose leads to … Read more
Latest data on immune response to COVID-19 reinforces need for vaccination
A new study led by University of Oxford has found that previous infection, whether it was symptomatic or asymptomatic, does not necessarily protect you long term from COVID-19, particularly against new variants of concern. The PITCH Study (Protective Immunity from T cells to COVID-19 in Health workers) examined how the immune system responds to COVID-19 … Read more
Impaired antibody response to COVID-19 vaccination in patients with myeloid blood cancers
Oxford researchers have found that antibody responses to the first doses of COVID-19 vaccine in people with chronic myeloid blood cancers are not as strong as those among the general population. While this is expected to improve with the second dose, this important finding may help influence the design of future vaccination strategies, with further … Read more
Treating needle fears may reduce COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy
A new large-scale study shows that a quarter of the UK adult population has a potential injection phobia, and these individuals are twice as likely to be put off getting a COVID-19 vaccine. The study indicates that if all injection anxiety in the population was removed, just over 10 per cent of instances of vaccine … Read more
RECOVERY Trial identifies another effective COVID-19 treatment
The RECOVERY Trial, the world’s largest randomised trial of potential COVID-19 treatments, has found that a monoclonal antibody combination developed by US company Regeneron reduces deaths for hospitalised COVID-19 patients who have not mounted their own immune response. The RECOVERY Trial, which is led from Oxford and supported by the NIHR Oxford BRC, was established as a randomised … Read more
BRC-supported researchers recognised in Queen’s Birthday Honours
A number of NIHR Oxford BRC-supported researchers who have played prominent roles in the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic have been honoured as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours List. The researchers, who have developed new vaccines or identified new drug treatments, have saved many lives around the world. Among the BRC researchers recognised … Read more
RECOVERY trial finds aspirin does not improve survival for hospitalised COVID-19 patients
The RECOVERY Trial, the world’s largest randomised trial of potential COVID-19 treatments, has found that in patients hospitalised with COVID-19, aspirin is not associated with reductions in mortality or in the risk of progressing to invasive mechanical ventilation or death. In results published on the pre-print server medRxiv, the trial team found that aspirin was associated with a small … Read more
AI detects life-threatening blood vessel inflammation from COVID-19 variants
New artificial intelligence (AI) technology to scan for heightened blood vessel inflammation can calculate a person’s risk of death from COVID-19 and COVID-19 variants. The technology could be used to tailor their treatment and give them the best chance of recovery, according to new research funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and presented today … Read more
Study confirms longer-term lung damage after COVID-19
A study by Oxford and Sheffield researchers using a cutting-edge method of imaging has identified persistent damage to the lungs of COVID-19 patients at least three months after they were discharged from hospital, and for some patients even longer. This damage was not detected by routine CT scans and clinical tests, and the patients would … Read more
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