Oxford Vaccine: Up to 90% Efficacy, Immunizer Has Low Cost, Storage and Production Advantages | Vaccine

The announcement is both good news and relative disappointment after the vaccines developed by Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna showed a 95% level of protection.

However, the Oxford vaccine is much cheaper and easier to store and reach all corners of the world than these two immunizers.

• Efficacy, effectiveness, immune response: understanding the concepts of vaccine testing

Therefore, if approved by regulators, the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine will play a key role in fighting the pandemic. Experts estimate that no single immunizer will have the ability to contain the disease., something that would only be possible with the distribution of the various effective, safe and available immunizers.

“Today’s announcement brings us closer to the moment when we can use vaccines to end the devastation caused (by the coronavirus),” said the scientist who designed the vaccine, Sarah Gilbert.

In ten months, researchers at the British university carried out a vaccine development process that traditionally takes a decade.

The UK government has ordered 100 million doses of the so-called “Oxford vaccine”, enough to immunize 50 million people. The Brazilian government, through the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), also plans to distribute 100 million doses.

What did the studies show?

More than 20,000 volunteers participated, half in the UK and the rest in Brazil.

They divided into several groups. Thirty cases of Covid-19 have been reported in people who received both doses of the vaccine and 101 cases of the disease in people who received a placebo.

Therefore, the researchers stated that the immunizer offers 70% protection on average.

When the volunteers received two “high” doses, the protection was 62%, but increased to 90% when the people received a low dose followed by a high dose. It is not yet clear why such a difference exists.

“We are very pleased with these results,” said Professor Andrew Pollard, the study’s principal investigator, in an interview with the BBC.

He said the 90% efficacy data was “intriguing” and meant that “we would have many more doses to administer.”

Additionally, earlier phases of the research showed that the vaccine worked effectively for all age groups.

When will the vaccines be delivered?

In the UK, there are 4 million ready-to-use doses and another 96 million to be administered.

In Brazil, Fiocruz negotiated an agreement with AstraZeneca for the purchase of batches and technology transfer, which would allow the production of the vaccine in Brazil in early 2021.

The agreement provides for the delivery of 15 million doses until December 2020 and another 15 million until January 2021. This amount would be enough to immunize 15% of the Brazilian population.. Then, more than 70 million doses would be produced, with a unit cost of around R $ 12.

But that still depends on an analysis by the National Sanitary Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) until it can be distributed in Brazil. There is no set term for this guarantee.

Both countries are completing the plan to distribute the vaccine to the population. The elderly and healthcare professionals should be at the front of the line.

Are the results disappointing?

After Pfizer and Moderna produced vaccines with 95% protection against Covid-19, an average efficiency level of 70% seems relatively disappointing.

But it’s not like that. First, health officials around the world, including the World Health Organization (WHO), consider any immunization more than 50% effective as a triumph.

After There are the advantages of storage, final price, production capacity and distribution logistics.

On the world stage, those responsible for the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine guarantee that they will have the ability to deliver 3 billion doses in 2021. In addition, this immunizer can be stored in normal refrigerators, which means that it can be distributed to all corners of the world.. In addition, the cost in Brazil would be around R $ 12 per dose.

On the other hand, vaccine manufacturers Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna say they will have a production capacity of 1.3 billion and 1 billion doses in 2021, respectively, but they demand much lower temperatures.

Initially, the Pfizer / BioNTech immunizer needs a temperature of -70 ° C to prevent the substance from losing its effect. This can become a major obstacle in remote or very hot regions.

Another problem would be the availability of this immunizer in Brazil. For now, there is no arrangement for the purchase or transfer of technology to the country. Even if the Brazilian government and the two companies close a deal, the first doses would only arrive here from the first quarter of 2021, as other nations have already guaranteed the first batches.

In comparison, Moderna’s product has the advantage of being stored at -20 ° C. This is a much easier temperature to guarantee with the freezers and freezers that Brazil currently has.

There is not much information about the possible arrival of this vaccine in Brazil. One way to obtain the product can be the Global Fund for Access to Vaccines for Covid-19 (Covax), created by the WHO with the aim of distributing doses to less developed countries. Brazil is part of the initiative, but it is unclear how many doses would be delivered to the country.

Recent estimates by Moderna indicated that the price per dose should be around R $ 170. Pfizer / BioNTech, at almost R $ 110. But the final values ​​have not yet been officially defined. Both require the application of two doses to ensure their effectiveness.

How does the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine work?

The vaccine uses a genetically modified common cold virus that used to infect chimpanzees, an adenovirus.

It was changed to prevent it from causing an infection in people and to carry parts of the coronavirus gene, including the spike (or “spike”) protein.

Once these molecules are inside the body, they begin to produce the coronavirus spike protein that the immune system recognizes as a threat and learns to destroy.

When the immune system comes into contact with the real virus, it knows what to do.

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