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How can the government extend the expiration date of a vaccine? Why didn’t the government know before that it wasn’t working? Answers to your questions about the AstraZeneca vaccine.
An image from the brochure released by the University of Oxford on November 23, 2020 shows a technician working on the University’s COVID-19 candidate vaccine, co-invented by the University of Oxford and Vaccitech in partnership with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca. Image: John Cairns / University of Oxford / AFP
JOHANNESBURG – In a statement released by Wits University on Sunday afternoon, trial researchers said the AstraZeneca vaccine was highly effective against the parent coronavirus for people who had mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms. But 501Y.V2, the second variant of the virus first sequenced in South Africa and now the dominant variant in the country, did not perform as well.
READ: SA halts launch of AstraZeneca vaccine on efficacy against second variant
According to the university, more than 2,000 South African adults between the ages of 18 and 65 enrolled from June to November at seven sites in Gauteng and the Western Cape.
In a preprint of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 study, named after the AstraZeneca vaccine, the researchers said in young South African adults, the vaccine offered limited protection against the 501Y.V2 variant.
This means that even if you are vaccinated after testing positive for the first variant of the coronavirus, there is still a chance that you could become infected with the second variant as the virus mutates. The vaccine was developed for the first variant and not for the mutation. This is also the reason why population or herd immunity should be achieved as soon as possible.
But how does this work? Should we worry about having an ineffective vaccine? And why was the government not aware of some of these problems earlier? Here are some important things to know about the AstraZeneca vaccine.
IT’S FALSE?
It’s not fake, it works, it just doesn’t work as well as we expected with the new variant. That is a very important point. The study conducted was small, and the study researchers believe it might offer more protection against more serious forms of the disease.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is less effective than Pfizer or Moderna, but it is still important. It’s the cheapest of the available options – it costs $ 4 per dose, compared to $ 20 for the Pfizer vaccine and between $ 10 and $ 50 for Moderna. It is also easier to transport to South Africa, as it does not need cold storage to stay alive. It is not a fake vaccine. Having some form of effectiveness against a variant is better than having none.
We are not the only ones using it. Through COVAX, most of the United Nations countries, as well as Palestine and the Vatican, joined forces to acquire vaccines against the virus together. This includes the United States, which joined late under President Joe Biden. AstraZeneca is one of the vaccines these countries are buying. Outside of COVAX, AstraZeneca is already the vaccine used in the UK and will continue to send two million doses a week there, and plans to send 400 million doses to European Union states.
AND THE EVIDENCE?
According to scientists, all vaccines have shown difficulties in fighting the second variant of COVID-19. Sinopharm and Pfizer have experienced a minimal decrease in efficacy, while AstraZeneca has shown a substantial decrease.
Trials of the AstraZeneca vaccine set out to measure its effectiveness in preventing mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms.
As Wits explained in his statement Sunday, 2,000 South African volunteers were used in his trial. Twenty-two percent of that group were successful with the vaccine. We are still waiting to hear about additional trials, as the data is not yet available. The people were between the ages of 18 and 65 and this did not include people with HIV. No data are available on whether the vaccine provides protection against severe forms of the disease, hospitalizations, or deaths.
According to health journalist Laura López González, “the study only had enough people to be able to show if the vaccine was at least 60% effective and I couldn’t tell if it protected against severe COVID-19. One more phase 3 study large would be necessary for that. “
Clinical trials of the Johnson & Johnson single-shot vaccine have shown its effectiveness in preventing hospitalization and death. The J&J vaccine was initially tested in 45,000 people, 15,000 of whom were South Africans, and included people with comorbidities such as diabetes and HIV.
“The South African AstraZeneca trial was conducted during the end of the first wave and during the second wave, which was driven by the new variant first discovered in South Africa. The vaccine was designed to combat the original virus, and before the new variant was discovered, “he explained on Twitter. “Until the end of October 2020, the AstraZeneca vaccine was able to reduce the risk of a person becoming infected with the COVID-19 virus only 14 days after injection, but this changes as the new variant dominates infections in South Africa.
Novavax was effective in 49% of people tested with mild to moderate symptoms. Meanwhile, Sinopharm’s vaccine proved effective in laboratory trials, according to the Sunday night health presentation.
WHY DOES THE GOVERNMENT SAY IT WILL SEEK TO EXTEND THE EXPIRY DATES OF VACCINES?
The AstraZeneca vaccine has an expiration period of six months. But it is still the first days of our tests. According to public health specialist Kerrin Begg, the reason is that the vaccines we currently have only have six-month study data. As stability data becomes available for longer periods, manufacturers can extend the expiration dates. We will better understand the timelines around its effectiveness.
WHY DIDN’T THE GOVERNMENT RAISE THIS BEFORE?
The speed at which we have had to manufacture, test and distribute a vaccine around the world is unprecedented. The only information we have is from day-to-day testing – everything we are learning is happening as we deal with the virus. It is impossible to anticipate this information as tests are performed on the fly while the virus is mutating. This form of testing and study is the way most vaccines are created. Scientists confirmed on Sunday that although the vaccine was not as effective on mild to moderate symptoms, the vaccine could still be effective in preventing more severe cases of COVID-19.
Andrew Pollard, Professor of Pediatric Infection and Immunity and lead investigator of the Oxford vaccine trial, said via Wits’s statement: “This study confirms that the pandemic coronavirus will find ways to continue to spread in vaccinated populations, as expected. but taken with According to the promising results of other studies in South Africa, such as those using a similar viral vector, vaccines can continue to reduce the number of victims in health care systems by preventing serious diseases. “
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