The world, eagerly awaiting a vaccine to beat the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), could turn the corner with the Oxford University candidate showing promising results. This could be a sign of relief for devastated economies and overworked healthcare systems in major nations battling the viral contagion that has claimed 1.15 million lives.
According to the British and Swedish pharmaceutical AstraZeneca Plc, the drug AZD1222 has shown an immune response in older and younger adults, with reduced adverse effects among the elderly. Officials at the vaccine developer have said that it is “encouraging to see that immunogenicity responses were similar between older adults and young people and that reactogenicity was lower in older adults, where the severity of Covid-19 disease is higher. “.
“The results further build the body of evidence for AZD1222’s safety and immunogenicity,” said an AstraZeneca spokesperson.
Here are the other Covid-19 vaccine developments you need to know about today:
– Fauci says the vaccine verdict is due in early December
Stating that a verdict on the safety and efficacy of the Covid-19 vaccine is likely to emerge in early December, US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said more widespread vaccination is not likely until late 2021.
“We will know if a vaccine is safe and effective in late November, early December,” Fauci said, according to Reuters. “When you talk about vaccinating a substantial proportion of the population so that it can have a significant impact on the dynamics of the outbreak, it most likely won’t be until the second or third quarter of the year,” Fauci said.
– Qatar signs an agreement to buy Modern Covid-19 vaccine
Qatar joined the league of countries queuing to buy the Covid-19 vaccine from Moderna Inc. and signed an agreement with the pharmaceutical company. The country will purchase the potential vaccine once it passes the approval round and is available for global use, Reuters reported.
“Negotiating early and securing a series of deals increases our chances of getting sufficient quantities of the vaccine early,” said Abdullatif al-Khal, president of a national Covid-19 health group and head of infectious diseases at Hamad Medical Corporation.
Moderna, he said, is on track to produce 20 million doses of its vaccine by the end of the year, while maintaining its goal of preparing between 500 million and 1 billion doses by 2021.
– Israel in the global human trial race of the Covid-19 vaccine
Announcing its plan to join the global race to conduct human trials of the Covid-19 vaccine, Israel said its potential drug will be developed by a research institute and will be overlooked by the country’s Defense Ministry on 1 May. November after receiving regulatory approval.
– UK has no hope of Covid-19 vaccine this year
A senior UK official said on Monday that he saw abysmal hopes that the country would secure a Covid-19 vaccine and said it is setting its core expectations in the first half of 2021. “In my core expectation, I would expect most of the launch. to be in the first half of next year, “said Matt Hancock, the British health secretary. About some people who received a vaccine this year, he responded: “I do not rule it out, but that is not my central expectation.”
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