Andrew Lloyd Webber Volunteers For COVID Vaccine Trial
Andrew Lloyd Webber revealed that he has volunteered for the University of Oxford’s coronavirus vaccine trial
Nearly eight months after the first cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in Wuhan, China, the world is impatiently waiting for a vaccine that will help slow the spread of the highly infectious and deadly virus. While some people are sitting around debating about whether or not they will be one of the first in line to receive the shot that could protect them from an infection, internationally renowned composer Andrew Lloyd Webber isn’t wasting any time. In fact, in a new social media post over the weekend, the legendary musician revealed that he himself volunteered for one of the many COVID-19 vaccine clinical trials currently taking place around the world.
Last week, the 72-year-old shared a photo of himself getting the vaccine on Instagram as part of the University of Oxford trial, revealing that he will do anything to help return the world to normalcy.
“Just completed the Oxford Covid-19 vaccine trial,” he wrote alongside it. “I’ll do anything to get theatres large and small open again and actors and musicians back to work.”
The Broadway icon tagged the National Independent Venue Association, a non-profit helping to preserve independent live music venues and promoters throughout the United States. He also donned a t-shirt with the hashtag #SaveOurStages.
According to recent research published in the medical journal The Lancet, the vaccine that Lloyd Webber has received, ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, is “extremely promising” as well as “safe” and “induces strong immune responses.” It is actually made from a virus that causes the common cold in chimpanzees. Then, scientists reengineered it to have more of a coronavirus structure and so that it wouldn’t harm humans. The UK government has already ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine.
As a result of the pandemic, live theater has been shut down across the world, including Broadway, Hollywood, and Nashville. According to the Broadway League, theaters in New York won’t reopen until at least January 2021, with so many of the people involved in their productions out of work.
Lloyd Webber has made a point to remain extremely active on social media throughout the pandemic, keeping everyone in the loop about his latest project: Cinderella. The show is set to premiere in April 2021 (fingers crossed) and will star Carrie Hope Fletcher.
