Updated: November 20, 2020 4:07:53 pm
An actor dressed as a coronavirus reacts after injecting a fantasy vaccine during a street performance in Plaza San Martín (AP)
Encouraging results in Covid-19 vaccine trials by pioneers in November have raised hopes that a first-generation coronavirus antidote is likely to receive approval in late December or early 2021. Ongoing late-stage human trials of the mRNA vaccine candidates developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Inc have reported effectiveness rates of up to 95 percent, sowing hope around the world in the battle against the pandemic that has claimed 1.34 million lives and disrupted economies around the world.
Russia has also claimed a 92 percent effectiveness for its Sputnik V vaccine candidate, which is being tested in humans in intermediate to late-stage trials by Hyderabad-based Dr Reddy’s Laboratories in India. Shooting success rates they are well above the WHO recommendations, which requires that successful vaccines show a reduction in disease risk of at least 50%.
Of the dozens of vaccines in late-stage trials, the next data release will likely be from AstraZeneca Plc at Christmas. Johnson & Johnson says it is on track to release data this year or early next.
Latest updates to the coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine
Pfizer-BioNTech Coronavirus Vaccine
Success rate: Taking the lead in the global search for a Covid-19 antidote, Pfizer Inc said Wednesday that the final results of the last stage of testing its Covid-19 vaccine, developed with German partner BioNTech SE, show that it has a 95 percent effective. According to data from Pfizer, of the 170 volunteers who contracted Covid-19 during Phase III trials involving more than 43,000 people, 162 had received a placebo and only eight received the two-dose vaccine, meaning the vaccine it was 95 percent effective.
Availability: The company is expected to file an emergency use authorization application with the US FDA on Friday and is likely to receive an approval for its mRNA-based vaccine candidate, BNT162b2, in the second half of December and begin. deliveries before Christmas. Pfizer claimed to produce up to 50 million doses of vaccines this year and then produce up to 1.3 billion doses in 2021.
Effectiveness: Pfizer stated that the efficacy of the vaccine was found to be consistent across different ages and ethnicities. “Efficacy in adults over 65, who are at particular risk from the virus, was more than 94 percent,” the firm said.
Side effects: The vaccine was well tolerated, and side effects were mostly mild to moderate, Pfizer said. The only serious adverse event that affected more than 2% of those vaccinated was fatigue, which occurred in 3.7% after the second dose; and headache, which occurred in 2 percent.
Price: Pfizer will reportedly charge $ 20 per dose for its vaccine. 📣 Express Explained is now on Telegram
Pfizer stated that the efficacy of the vaccine was found to be consistent across different ages and ethnicities (AP)
Modern vaccine against coronavirus
Success rate: The American biotech company Moderna, whose vaccine uses the same mRNA technology as Pfizer’s, claimed its experimental injection of Covid-19. showed an efficacy of 94.5 percent based on preliminary results of his late-stage rehearsals. The results were based on 95 infections that were recorded two weeks after the volunteers received the second dose.
Effectiveness: In older adults, the Moderna vaccine produced virus neutralizing antibodies at levels similar to those seen in younger adults, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Availability: Moderna has announced that it will seek emergency use authorization for its candidate vaccine in high-risk groups. It expects to have around 20 million doses, destined for the United States, by the end of 2020.
Side effects: Modern has did not reveal any serious security issues. According to Science, the independent board that conducted the interim analysis of Moderna’s trial found that serious side effects included fatigue in 9.7 percent of participants, muscle pain in 8.9 percent, joint pain in the 5.2 percent and headache in 4.5 percent.
Price: Moderna has said its vaccine will cost $ 37 (more than Rs 2,750).
AstraZeneca-Oxford coronavirus vaccine
Oxford University expects to release the results of the final stages of the trial by Christmas, Reuters reported. More specifically, Oxford said it would begin initial analysis of data from its late-stage trials after 53 infections among its volunteers.
Effectiveness: Results of the phase 2 clinical trials, published in The Lancet medical journal on Thursday, revealed that the vaccine candidate for the AZD1222 or ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine has triggered a robust immune response in adults aged 56 to 69 years and older. 70 years. “ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 appears to be better tolerated in older adults than young adults … and has similar immunogenicity in all age groups after a booster dose,” he said in a statement.
A worker handles Covid-19 test samples in a central Delhi
Availability: Serum Institute of India, which is conducting phase III trials of the vaccine in India, said the Oxford vaccine (called Covishield in India) should be available to healthcare workers and the elderly around February 2021 and in April for the general public. SII Executive Director Adar Poonawalla said 30 to 40 crore doses of the vaccine will be available by the first quarter of 2021. The Pune-based company is likely to apply for emergency approval from India’s drug regulator next month.
Side effects: So far, no major adverse events, reactions or complaints have been reported in the Indian arm of the trials. The Lancet study mentions that adverse reactions to the vaccine were mild, with the most common effects being pain and tenderness at the injection site, fatigue, headache, fever, and muscle pain.
Price: The Serum Institute said the vaccine, which can be stored at temperatures between 2 ° C and 8 ° C, will cost between Rs 500 to 600 per dose for the general public. Elsewhere it is likely to cost less than £ 3 per dose.
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