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LONDON (dpa-AFX) – It’s the third sign of hope in a few weeks: With the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, another company appears to have found an effective corona vaccine. According to data from the preliminary study, the agent developed with the University of Oxford offers an average of 70 percent protection against Covid-19, Astrazeneca announced Monday. With a special dose, the effectiveness could possibly be significantly higher, but more analysis is needed first. According to preliminary data, the so-called mRNA vaccines from Pfizer / Biontech and Moderna are about 95 percent effective, as the manufacturers had announced.
An advantage of the British agent: unlike the Pfizer preparation, for example, the Astrazeneca vaccine can be transported and stored in the refrigerator at temperatures of two to eight degrees. “Even if the effectiveness seems a bit lower overall than with mRNA vaccines, AZD1222 has one big advantage: it is robust and easy to use, so to speak, the ‘worker bee’ among potentially available Covid-19 vaccines.” the Munich-based company explained. Infectiologist Clemens Wendtner. This makes it easier to use for complex cold chains even in countries with fewer resources.
The active ingredient Oxford / Astrazeneca had long been one of the promising candidates: the EU had already ordered up to 300 million doses in advance. In total, several billion cans have already been ordered from Astrazeneca around the world. According to the group, delivery must begin before the end of the year, after the necessary approvals have been obtained. More than 300 million doses of vaccines should have been delivered worldwide by the end of March. A total of three billion cans should be available by 2021, of which more than 50 million are destined for Germany, an Astrazeneca spokeswoman said at the request of the German press agency.
According to the researchers, a surprising partial result of the clinical trials gives hope of an effectiveness possibly greater than 70 percent: According to preliminary data, the vaccine is apparently more effective if the test subjects receive only half a dose of vaccine instead a full dose the first time. “Fortunately, we have found that the dosing regimen could be as effective as 90 percent, and if used, more people could be vaccinated at the available doses,” said Oxford University’s chief researcher for vaccine development, Andrew Pollard. .
Pollard and his colleagues explain this, so far only tentative, saying that a lower first dose of vaccine might better stimulate the body’s immune system and that the second dose might have a stronger “booster effect.”
Gerd Fätkenheuer from the Cologne University Hospital asked for patience. The differences in the two test runs are not initially obvious and more data would have to be awaited before this can be better evaluated. “Overall, however, it is very gratifying that a third vaccine is about to be introduced.”
His colleague Leif Sander from the Berlin Charité pointed out that the flu vaccines that are already available are at best 70 percent effective, some even less. In this sense, an equally effective corona vaccine is definitely “a valuable addition to the global fight against pandemics,” he told the German press agency.
European CDU politician Peter Liese expressed hope that “maybe three vaccines will be available this year.” It is also good that, in addition to the two new vaccines from the companies Biontech / Pfizer and Moderna, a so-called vector vaccine is also being developed using known technology. He expects the European Medicines Agency to verify the study data before Christmas, the health politician said. With one to three vaccines, the pandemic could lose its horror in a few weeks, because risk groups would be vaccinated and the disease would be less severe.
Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) also expects the first vaccines this year. “There is reason to be optimistic that there will be approval for a vaccine in Europe this year. And then we can start vaccines immediately,” Spahn told the editorial network in Germany (RND / Monday). He called on the federal states for the vaccination centers to be ready for use by mid-December. That seems to work.
The active ingredient AZD1222 is based on the weakened version of a chimpanzee cold virus. It contains genetic material for a surface protein with which the pathogen Sars-CoV-2 attaches to human cells. The agent works in two ways: it is supposed to promote the formation of specific antibodies and T cells; both are important for the immune system. Unlike the vaccines of the Mainz company Biontech and the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, as well as the American company Moderna, the British-Swedish preparation does not belong to mRNA vaccines.
Oxford researchers recently reported in “The Lancet” that their vaccine was also effective in phase II clinical trials in particularly vulnerable older subjects. In the phase II study, participants both younger and older than 56 had good immune responses, the team wrote. The vaccine was even better tolerated by the elderly than the very young. Researchers also see the first signs that the agent might also positively reduce transmission of the virus.
Shortly after the announcement, a journalist asked Oxford researchers at an online press conference if today was an exciting day. He nods cautiously and smiles at the group. But it was a really exciting day when Pfizer and Biontech announced their breakthrough. “They have shown for the first time that it is possible,” said Oxford researcher Sarah Catherine Gilbert. “There really is no competition. We need as many vaccines as we can. Only together can we make a difference.” / Swe / DP / fba
