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The British pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca claims to have conducted complementary research and found “the winning formula” for the Covid-19 vaccine that it develops in collaboration with the University of Oxford. The UK drug regulatory agency is expected to comment on the product in the coming days.
British pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca claims to have carried out additional research and found “the winning formula” for the COVID-19 vaccine it develops in partnership with the University of Oxford. The UK drug regulatory agency is expected to comment on the product in the coming days.
In an interview published this Sunday (27) by the British newspaper sunday time, AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot guaranteed that the immunizer offers “100% protection against severe forms of COVID-19.” “We believe that we have found the winning formula,” he declared.
After large-scale clinical trials in the UK and Brazil, the British laboratory announced in November that the initial version of its vaccine had an average effectiveness of 70%. However, behind these results were disparities in the protocols used. The effectiveness was 90% in volunteers who initially received a half dose of the product and a full dose one month later. In another group vaccinated with two full doses, the effectiveness was 62%.
After harsh criticism, AstraZeneca revealed that the half dose was mistakenly applied to the volunteers. Due to the strong negative repercussions, the company decided to carry out additional tests with the product.
Positive aspects of the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine
The expectation of the vaccine developed by the British laboratory is high because the product is low cost, only US $ 4 per dose. The other advantage is that the immunizer can be stored in conventional freezers and not at -70 ° C, as is the case with the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine. This would facilitate a large-scale immunization operation.
The United Kingdom, the first Western country to start injecting itself with the Pfizer / BioNTech product, is betting heavily on the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine to accelerate the fight against the disease in the country, especially after the detection of a new variant of the virus.
When asked about the effectiveness of his immunizer, Soriot could not hide his doubts. “We think the vaccine should work, but we can’t be sure, so we will do more tests,” he said.
The British government announced last Wednesday (23) that it had submitted the complete data on the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine to the agency that regulates drugs in the country, the MHRA. According to the British press, the agency is expected to comment on the product in the next few days to begin its use on January 4.
Over 350 million doses reserved for the UK
The UK has ordered 100 million doses of the AstraZeneca immunizer, of which 40 million should be available by the end of March 2021. In total, the country has guaranteed access to more than 350 million injections with seven vaccine manufacturers.
Approximately 600,000 people have already received the first dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine in the UK. The country, which is one of the most affected by Covid-19 in Europe and has more than 70,000 deaths, has seen a sharp increase in the number of cases in recent weeks. According to the authorities, the phenomenon is due to the new variant of the virus, which would have a transmission capacity between 50% and 74% greater than the initial strain.
