tonight at ten — scientists

at oxford reach "a really important milestone" in their work on a vaccine for coronavirus. the vaccine is said to be safe, based on trials involving more than a thousand people, including nhs staff. the severity of some of the cases has been quite upsetting at times, so i really wanted to try and help get rid of this disease. the uk government has already ordered 100 million doses. the scientists say the findings are promising, but there's more work to do. they are extremely promising because these are the type of responses that we believe will be associated with protection. we'll be asking how soon the vaccine could be available to tens of millions of people across the uk. also on the programme... after china's new laws against protests in hong kong, the uk has suspended the extradition treaty with its former territory. we will protect our vital interests, we will stand up for our values, and we will hold china

to its international obligations. at the high court, amber heard alleges herformer husband, johnny depp, threatened to kill her on many occasions. andrew lloyd webber tells us why theatres can't survive if they're forced to make audiences obey social distancing. ollie pope! and england level the series with a victory over west indies in the second test old trafford. coming up in sport on bbc news, brighton secure their premier league status for another year after playing out a goalless draw with newcastle united. good evening. a team of scientists

at oxford university say they've reached "a really important milestone" in their work to develop a vaccine for coronavirus. they say the vaccine they're developing appears to be safe and triggers an immune response, based on early trials involving more than a thousand people. the government has already ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine. but while the findings are promising, the experts say it's still too soon to know how much protection it offers, and larger trials are now under way. our medical correspondent fergus walsh has the story. three, one, three, one, one, nine, seven. so much is riding on this. could the oxford vaccine help end the coronavirus pandemic? more than 9,000 volunteers have received the jab in the uk — among them, these front line nhs staff in newcastle. i've seen what covid can do. the sort of severity of some of the cases has been quite upsetting at times, so i really wanted to try and help get rid of this disease.

unfortunately, my dad fell ill with covid and was admitted here for eight days. and i think once it's been that close to home, it makes more of a difference... you feel like you want to do your bit. vaccines work by training the immune system to recognise and remember the enemy — in this case, coronavirus. the oxford vaccine stimulates the creation of specialist y—shaped proteins known as neutralising antibodies. in the event of future exposure, these should latch onto the coronavirus and prevent infection. it also stimulates the creation of t—cells, another key part of the immune system. these should sweep up after the antibodies and destroy any cells that have become infected. in the first 1,000 volunteers, the vaccine was safe and two doses

gave a better immune response than one. the oxford team says it's a really important milestone. we're really pleased with the results that are published today in the lancet, because we're seeing both neutralising antibody responses and t—cell responses that we are optimistic may be associated with protection, but we still need to conduct those trials to prove that that's the case in humans. but we don't know if the vaccine will work in the real world and protect people from infection. trials have begun in south africa and brazil, both virus hotspots. so the answer there may come sooner than in the uk. so this is very good and it's very promising to start with. however, we have seen vaccines reaching this point and also failing, so we need to be a little bit careful and not quite popping the proseccojust yet. i can fit you both in at quarter to one. perfect.

these over—70s in southampton are all signing up to receive the vaccine. older people are more vulnerable to covid—19. and our immune system weakens as we age, so whether the vaccine protects them is another key question that needs answering. how do you feel? i feel fine. good. fergus is with me. so when viewers asks the key question of when we are likely to see this, can we give an answer?m is so difficult. there is a lot we don't know. for example, with the oxford vaccine, how long that immunity response lasts. it was only measured for eight weeks in the early volu nteers. measured for eight weeks in the early volunteers. we need it to last for many months, if not years. many patients who have had covid—19, many of their antibody levels decline rapidly after a couple of months. answers on efficacy, does it work, we might get by the end of the year. but more likely, with most vaccines,

it will come next year. roughly nine out of ten vaccine trials fail, remember, even some that were promising early on. we were focusing on the work led by the team at oxford. but put that research for us ina oxford. but put that research for us in a broader context. clearly, there are in a broader context. clearly, there a re lots of in a broader context. clearly, there are lots of other teams working on possible vaccines. there are 23 covid—19 vaccines in the clinic, an astonishingly high number. another 140 are in early development. oxford is one of the front runners. we had encouraging results today from a chinese coronavirus vaccine. china has more covid—19 vaccines in the clinic than any other country. the uk government has bought 190 million doses of covid—19 vaccine, 100 million of the oxford vaccine and 90 million of the oxford vaccine and 90 million from two other companies, all taking quite different approaches. even allowing for the fa ct

approaches. even allowing for the fact that we need two doses, that is way more than the uk needs. but it is an acknowledgement that may be one, two or maybe three of those might work. but it is likely that some of them will fail. fergus walsh, our medical correspondent. official figures for the latest 24—hour period show 11 people have died in the uk after testing positive for coronavirus. that brings the total number of those who have died to 45,312. on average in the past week, 69 people have died every day from coronavirus. initial results from a clinical trial for a new treatment for coronavirus suggest it might reduce the severity of the disease or the need for intensive care. that's according to the british company that developed it, using an aerosol form of a drug commonly used to treat multiple sclerosis. but others are sounding a note of caution, saying the full data is not yet available, as our correspondent justin rowlatt reports. a covid ward at the height

of the pandemic... what we're going to do, kaye, is give you some of that research medication now. nurse sandy aitken shows patient kaye flitney how to use a nebuliser to inhale the new medicine deep into her lungs. it uses interferon beta, a protein that is part of the body's first line of defence against viruses. the idea is to stimulate a stronger immune response. one of the coronavirus's key tactics is to suppress the local production of interferon beta, and if the virus itself is suppressing the production of interferon beta, then it was logical to put the drug directly into the organ that is really struggling with the disease, and that is the lungs. and it appears to have worked. according to these initial findings, patients were 80% less likely to get more seriously ill, they were more than twice as likely to recover, they experienced less breathlessness, and were released from hospital earlier — after an average of six days =

rather than nine. but the trial was small — just 101 patients.