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Following the incredible leap forward on the vaccine front, first with Pfizer’s announcement and then Moderna’s, comes another extraordinary piece of news from what until recently appeared to have been the first Covid “antidote” to hit the market: the Oxford-Pomezia vaccine developed by AstraZeneca.
Cambridge-based Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company has announced its vaccine is 70% effective. Therefore, an apparently much lower percentage than those presented by rivals Pfizer (first 90% came later with the final tests at 95%) and Moderna (94.5%).
AstraZeneca explained that 70% efficacy of their vaccine was demonstrated in two study segments. Results from an interim analysis of clinical trials of its AZD1222 vaccine in the UK and Brazil showed that the vaccine was very effective in preventing Covid-19 (this is the so-called primary endpoint), and no cases of hospitalization or serious illness have been reported in the participants who received it.
AstraZeneca vaccine, what are the correct efficacy rates?
When the vaccine was given as two full doses separated by at least one month, it showed a62% effective. When given as a half dose, followed by a full dose at least one month apart, it showed a90% efficient. The combined analysis of the two dosing regimens produced a70% average efficiency.
To correctly analyze the percentages, it is essential to make this distinction. Because although the average of the two tests is 70%, we know that in the second case it reaches 90%, so AstraZeneca could decide to deepen this experimental path by getting very close to Pfizer and Moderna.
Experimentation
In total there have been 131 cases in the interim analysis Covid. The pooled analysis includes data from the phase II / III study COV002 in United Kingdom and phase III study in COV003 Brazil. They are being further evaluated 23 thousand participants after two doses of a half dose + full dose regimen or a two full dose regimen of AZD1222 or a comparative meningococcal conjugate vaccine called MenACWY.
Global studies are evaluating participants 18 years or older from different racial and geographic groups who are healthy or have stable underlying medical conditions.
Clinical trials are also underway in the United States, Japan, Russia, South Africa, Kenya, and Latin America, with studies planned in other European and Asian countries. In total, the company plans to register up to 60 thousand participants Worldwide.
What advantages does it have over Pfizer and Moderna?
As more data continues to accumulate and further analysis will be conducted to refine the effectiveness reading and establish the duration of protection, AstraZeneca explained that currently theProtection against covid occurs 14 days or more after receiving two doses of the vaccine.. No serious side effects have been confirmed.
Not only that: the Italian-speaking vaccine, because it was manufactured in part by Irbm in Pomezia, has three essential advantages: storage, the cost and theefficacy in the elderly.
The vaccine can be stored, transported and handled under normal refrigeration conditions. (2-8 ° C) for at least 6 months and is administered within existing health facilities. The British government has already ordered 100 million doses, enough to immunize 50 million people.
In addition to conservation, the other extraordinary advantage is the cost, much lower Pfizer and modern. And then there’s the real advantage: Interim Phase II data for AZD1222 suggests that older people have lower reactivity while maintaining a robust immune response (read more here).
How many doses will arrive in 2021
The company has said it will produce up to 3000 million doses of vaccine in 2021 continuously, pending regulatory approval.
“These results show that we have an effective vaccine that will save many lives. Interestingly, we found that one of our dosing regimens can be around 90% effective and if this dosing regimen is used, more people could be vaccinated with the planned vaccine delivery, ” commented Professor Andrew Pollard, Principal Investigator of ‘test vaccine Oxford in Oxford.
AstraZeneca will now submit the data to authorities around the world who have a framework for early or conditional approval. The company will seek emergency use approved by the World Health Organization for a accelerated trajectory in low-income countries.
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