Professor Snape is leading Oxford's COVID-19 vaccine study, netizens can't keep calm

A recently published research into coronavirus vaccines is now doing rounds of the internet-reason being the author’s name. Professor Snape, a name that reminds everyone of the infamous tutor from the Harry Potter series, is also the name of the research’s lead author. The discovery has now prompted hundreds of thousands of fans into drawing connections between the two.

The fictional character of Professor Snape from the Harry Potter series, played by the late actor Alan Rickman, is a potions master at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. On the other hand, Dr Matthew Snape is an associate professor of paediatrics and vaccinology at the University of Oxford. He is the chief investigator of a major UK trial looking at whether Covid vaccines can be mixed with different types of jabs used for first and second doses is being expanded to boost overall efficiency.

The co-incidence soon turned into an online phenomenon after #ProfessorSnape started trending on Twitter. While most of the Potterheads took the opportunity to quip that Professor was back at what he did-mixing potions, others dishes out jokes and memes. The University of Oxford also joined the fun tweeting that “their Professor Snape was a vaccine expert and a “lot more friendlier”. "If Professor Snape doesn't direct the world to turn to page 394 when presenting his report on this, I will be sorely disappointed," quipped one user. "And a parchment on the origins of the werewolf," added another. 

'Professor Snape is alive' 

Another user tweeted, "Professor Snape is alive. Voldemort attack didn’t work, he's currently leading the UK covid mix and match vaccine trials." Yet another tweeted, "Professor Snape leading the study on mix and match vaccine usage in the UK.
No I’m not joking. That’s 100% facts."

In the UK, a trial looking at whether COVID-19 vaccines can be mixed with different types of jabs used for first and second doses is being expanded. The trial, which was launched in February using Pfizer's and AstraZeneca's vaccines and would expand to include the Moderna and Novavax formulas. So far the Com-Cov trial has looked at immune responses of trial participants given the AstraZeneca jab first, followed by the Pfizer-BioNTech shot, and the other way around.

Image Credits: HarryPotterFilm/Twitter/AlastairLiddia1/breadandjam