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LONDON – The United Kingdom has authorized the emergency use of the vaccine against new coronavirus developed by AstraZeneca in alliance with college the oxford. The immunizer was approved by the British regulatory agency (MHRA) on Wednesday 30, at a time when authorities hope to speed up the vaccination campaign. launched in the country in early December. The MHRA approved the regimen for two full doses, with an interval of 1 to 3 months. Vaccination should start next week.
This is the second vaccine approved in the UK, which was also the first to approve the use of the Pfizer vaccine. The Oxford / AstraZeneca immunizer was expected to be cheaper and easier to distribute. Its doses can be stored in conventional freezers, without the need for conservation at -70 degrees Celsius.
The country confirmed 53,135 cases of covid-19 on Tuesday 29, the highest number recorded since the start of the pandemic, surpassing the record set the day before by more than 11,000 cases.
The UK has ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine, but by the end of 2021 it should receive up to 350 million, according to contracts signed with manufacturers that are already in the clinical testing phase.
The approval is a validation of the vaccine considered essential for mass immunization in countries like Brazil. Lack of transparency in the disclosure of clinical trial data and a dosing error that led to two efficacy results: 62% when applied in a two full dose regimen and 90% with a half dose followed by a full – questions generated by experts. The vaccine should not be approved by the European Union and the United States in the near future.
This Wednesday 30, Munir Pirmohamed, director of the pharmacogenomics sector of the British health system (NHS) and one of those responsible for the evaluation of vaccines against covid-19, said that the immunizer can be 80% effective when apply twice. full doses three months apart. These data had not been previously disclosed.
“We also looked at the half-dose regimen (which AstraZeneca says guarantees 90% effectiveness), but we felt the results were not confirmed in the full analysis,” Pirmohamed said.
In a change of approach, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) said the priority should be to give the first dose to the largest number of people in risk groups, rather than providing the two necessary doses in the shortest time possible.
Health Minister Matt Hancock said the MHRA (Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency) will establish more details on the dosage regimen on Wednesday 30.
Brazil
The Oxford vaccine continues to be the big bet of the Brazilian government, which invested R $ 1.9 billion to allow the purchase, processing and distribution of 100 million doses of the immunizer. The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), which will begin producing the vaccine in the country in January, must request registration from the National Sanitary Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) next week.
Anvisa has up to 60 days to analyze the request, but the expectation is that the authorization will be granted until February. According to the Minister of Health, Eduardo Pazuello, vaccination should begin in the same month. NEW, AFP, Reuters
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