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01:07 pm
Wednesday 30 December 2020
I wrote – Rana Osama:
28 days after giving the green light to the “Pfizer / Biontech” vaccine against Coronavirus, Great Britain approved a second vaccine developed by the University of “Oxford” and the British-Swedish company, “AstraZeneca”, to begin its intensive preparations in the implementation phase in preparation for its introduction and presentation to the most vulnerable groups first.
The British Agency for the Regulation of Medicines and Health Products approved the “Pfizer” vaccine on December 2, and it began to be used for people, at higher risk and the elderly, the following week.
Britain is expected to start distributing the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine from January 4, with regulatory approval in the country expected in a few days. In the following report, “Masrawy” sheds light on the most important information about the vaccine:
How does the vaccine work?
The AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine primarily uses a safe way to trick the immune system into thinking it is dealing with a serious infection, generating an immune response and immune memory that can be activated if the body encounters the true virus that causes it. the illness.
It relies on a technique known as a “viral vector,” which uses genetically modified viruses to deliver gene shipments to cells and instruct them on how to fight SARS-Cove 2.
It is based on a harmless virus (the virus that causes colds that affect chimpanzees) and is modified so that it does not cause infection. This allows the virus to enter part of the genetic material of the Covid 19 pathogen into the body to generate an immune response against it.
How effective is it?
Pascal Soriot, CEO of “AstraZeneca”, confirmed that the vaccine was able to achieve a “successful equation” in terms of effectiveness against Corona.
In an interview published a few days ago with the British newspaper “Sunday Times”, he said that his vaccination “provides 100 percent protection against acute cases of Covid 19 that require hospitalization, and which tend to have high mortality rates, and that overload the health system. ”
He added: “We believe we have deduced the successful equation and how to achieve efficacy after two doses,” noting that these data will be published at some point.
How safe is it?
According to AstraZeneca, people undergoing clinical trials for the vaccine have not yet developed significant side effects.
In September, AstraZeneca stopped working on it for approximately 7 weeks after a person who had been vaccinated in Britain developed myelitis. This type of injury can lead to muscle weakness or paralysis. But doctors apparently concluded that the accident had no clear link to vaccination.
Although studies have been resumed in some countries; Among them, Britain, quickly, the review by American regulators continued for more than a month before it was allowed to resume experiments there last October.
Why did you undergo an additional study?
Clinical trials of the vaccine have shown mixed results with respect to efficacy. Initially, it reached a rate of 70 percent in November, but one of the protocols, tested by mistake by the British laboratory on a small group of volunteers, showed 90 percent efficacy, prompting the company to perform a ” additional study “.
AstraZeneca acknowledged that the discrepancy was caused by the difference in dose due to a malfunction: due to a production error, the small glass test tubes of the vaccine were half full, so the study group in Great Britain received first a low dose and a month later the full dose, according to the German newspaper Deutsche Welle. .
What temperature is needed to store it?
The vaccine has a logistical advantage. It can be stored and transported in the “normal refrigerator” at 2 ° C to 8 ° C for at least 6 months.
For the “Moderna” and “Pfizer / Biontech” vaccines, they pose logistical challenges, because long-term storage must be kept at minus 20 degrees the first and minus 70 degrees the second.
How much does a single dose cost?
The “AstraZeneca / Oxford” vaccine is the cheapest, since the cost of a dose is about 4 dollars, compared to about 20 dollars for a dose of the Pfizer vaccine, and 37 for a dose of Moderna, according to the German site “Statista”, which deals with market statistics and consumer data.
However, these prices are expected to change according to order volume and local rates.
Is it effective against mutated strains?
The vaccine is believed to be effective against mutated Corona strains, including the one discovered in Britain, which led to a surge in Covid 19 cases in the UK.
According to Pascal Soriot, director of “AstraZeneca”, the researchers developing the vaccine have found a “winning formula” that makes it as effective as competing candidates against the rapidly spreading virus in Britain.
When asked about the effectiveness of the vaccine against the mutated strain of Corona in the UK, Suriot told the “Sunday Times”: “So far, we think the vaccine will be effective. But we cannot be sure, so we will test that. “.
