The Covid-19 vaccine being developed at the University of Oxford is safe and induces an immune reaction, findings of the first phases of the study suggest.
Trials involving around 1,077 people showed the injection resulted in those taking part making antibodies and white blood cells that can fight coronavirus.
According to reports, the UK has already ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine.
READ MORE: Coronavirus: Seven new cases confirmed overnight, but no deaths
The findings on the Oxford vaccine trial were published in medical journal, The Lancet.
Professor Sarah Gilbert, of the University of Oxford, said: “There is still much work to be done before we can confirm if our vaccine will help manage the Covid-19 pandemic, but these early results hold promise.
“As well as continuing to test our vaccine in phase-three trials, we need to learn more about the virus – for example, we still do not know how strong an immune response we need to provoke to effectively protect against Sars-Cov-2 infection.
“If our vaccine is effective, it is a promising option as these types of vaccine can be manufactured at large scale.
“A successful vaccine against Sars-Cov-2 could be used to prevent infection, disease and death in the whole population, with high-risk populations such as hospital workers and older adults prioritised to receive vaccination.”
Boris Johnson tweeted: “This is very positive news. A huge well done to our brilliant, world-leading scientists & researchers at @UniofOxford."
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: "Really encouraging news. Let’s all keep everything crossed"
READ MORE: John Swinney: Issuing fines for Covid-hit Lanarkshire call centre 'will be explored'
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the update on the vaccine was “very encouraging news”.
He tweeted: “We have already ordered 100 million doses of this vaccine, should it succeed.
“Congratulations to the scientists at @UniofOxford & @OxfordVacGroup and leadership of @AstraZeneca.”
“There are no guarantees, we’re not there yet & further trials will be necessary – but this is an important step in the right direction.”
Labour leader Keir Starmer said: "This is encouraging news."
A senior immunologist involved in the development of a Covid-19 vaccine at Oxford University has announced the latest results as “very encouraging”.
Prof Andrew Pollard, of the Oxford Vaccine Group, said the vaccine they were working on was “very well tolerated” by more than 1,000 volunteers involved in the trial.
“We are seeing good immune responses – exactly the sort of response we were hoping for – including neutralising antibodies and T-cell responses that seem to be those that are associated with protection,” he said.
READ MORE: Coronavirus: How does the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine work?
“This is an important milestone on the path and we are now moving rapidly forward to see if it actually protects the population by conducting large-scale trials and we have 10,000 people already vaccinated around the world.”
Seven cases of coronavirus have been confirmed overnight in Scotland, a sharp drop on the rising numbers seen in the previous 48 hours.
The figure from Health Protection Scotland followed increases of 21 on Saturday and 23 on Sunday.
There were no recorded deaths overnight, with the total remaining 2,491.
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