After British regulators approved AstraZeneca’s vaccine to provide immunity against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) on Wednesday, British Health Minister Matt Hancock said the approval was “good news for everyone.” Speaking to Sky News, Hancock highlighted the advantages of the AstraZeneca vaccine, developed at the University of Oxford, over other Covid-19 vaccines in terms of cost and storage feasibility.
“This is good news for everyone because this vaccine is relatively cheap to produce … because it is relatively easy to handle and can simply be stored at normal refrigerator temperature,” he said.
Hancock denied having set a target to vaccinate everyone, however the UK minister added that he hopes the country “can get out of this by spring.” He also admitted that the National Health Service (NHS) has faced great pressure due to the increase in Covid-19 cases, and said the vaccine “does not take away the really difficult winter weeks that we have in between from time to time. “.
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The Oxford / AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, AZD1222, can be stored at a refrigerator temperature of 2 ° C to 8 ° C for at least six months, while the Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna vaccines should be stored at a much cooler temperature . Pfizer’s vaccine requires ultra-cold storage at around -75 ° C and can be kept in the refrigerator for five days. On the other hand, Moderna’s vaccine, mRNA-1273, should be stored at -20 ° C and is expected to remain stable under standard refrigerated conditions for up to 30 days.
The Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine also scores better on price, costing a fraction of the price set by Pfizer and Moderna and will be manufactured in several low- and middle-income countries, including India and Brazil. Last month, Adar Poonawalla, executive director of the Serum Institute of India (SII), told the Hindustan Times that the vaccine will be priced in India at 500-600 rupees. IBS has partnered with AstraZeneca to conduct clinical trials and manufacture the vaccine in India.
Phase 3 trials of AZD1222 against SARS-CoV-2 in two different dose regimens showed an average efficacy of 70.4%, with no hospitalizations or serious illness observed in the vaccinated groups from three weeks after the first dose. The efficacy results are based on data obtained from 11,636 volunteers in the UK and Brazil.
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