[ad_1]
The corona vaccine developed by the pharmaceutical company Astrazeneca and the University of Oxford raises questions.
Following the promising results from Pfizer-Biontech and Moderna, it was another success story on the road to ending the coronavirus pandemic: On Monday, British drugmaker Astrazeneca announced that the coronavirus vaccine developed together with the University of Oxford had an effectiveness of around 90 Percentage against Covid-19. Could – that’s the keyword.
Because: About 90 percent effectiveness was only achieved if the Astrazeneca vaccine was given as a half dose, followed by a full dose at least one month apart.
90 percent effective due to an accident
When two full doses were given at least one month apart, the effectiveness was 62 percent. A combined analysis of both dosage regimens showed an average effectiveness of 70 percent. The data is based on an interim analysis after 131 infections among study participants.
The 90 percent effectiveness is likely due to an accident, the “New York Times” reported Tuesday. The original plan was to always give full doses to test subjects; British researchers have miscalculated, as a result of which some test subjects first accidentally received only half the dose of the first vaccine. Once the error was noticed, it was decided to administer the second vaccine in its entirety.
Smaller Groups Than Other Vaccine Candidates
The results, released Monday, are based on the experiences of 23,000 test subjects; 2800 of them would have received half the dose with the first vaccination. Compared to the Pfizer-Biontech and Moderna studies, this is a much smaller group of subjects. Therefore, experts are cautious when it comes to evaluating the actual success of vaccination in the UK.
Researchers speculate that the vaccine dose that was accidentally halved in the first vaccination might have been better at “mimicking” a coronavirus infection, so that the body develops a stronger immune response, writes the New Yorker Zeitung. . However, other factors could also have contributed to the result, such as the size of the test group and its composition.
British vaccine developers did not mention side effects on Monday. However, the tests had to be stopped twice in critical phase 3 after the subjects developed neurological problems. The US regulatory authority FDA said at the time that these problems are not necessarily related to vaccination; However, there is a requirement that vaccine developers pay special attention to similar phenomena.
More traditional vaccine
Many governments, especially the British, have already secured millions of doses of the Astrazeneca vaccine in advance, and the European Commission has also signed a purchase agreement. Astrazeneca is one of the leading companies in the race for a Covid-19 vaccine. Pfizer-Biontech is already heading towards an emergency permit in the US They applied for it on Friday and are expecting it until mid-December. Moderna is also planning an app in the near future. When Astrazeneca might take such a step cannot be predicted due to differences in the effectiveness and size of the trial; testing should also continue with the first reduced dose.
While the Biontech and Moderna vaccines are based on a completely new technology, the Astrazeneca vaccine is based on a conventional manufacturing method. The vaccine is a so-called monkey adenovirus-based vector vaccine. It is supposed to smuggle the genetic material of the virus into human cells, and the immune system reacts with the formation of antibodies. Astrazeneca vaccine can be stored in refrigerators at temperatures of two to eight degrees and is cheaper.
These are advantages over RNA vaccines. The Biontech and Moderna vaccines are based on the so-called messenger RNA (mRNA), which supposedly transmits information to human cells about the production of proteins and, therefore, about the fight against pathogens. Such a vaccine should be able to be manufactured on a large scale faster than conventional ones. But it also requires a higher level of refrigeration, making logistics difficult. Long-term experience is also lacking, as no drug or mRNA vaccine has yet been commercialized. Biontech’s vaccine showed 95 percent effectiveness after two doses and Moderna’s vaccine 94.5 percent protection against Covid-19 after two doses.
(APA / Reuters / Red.)
