AstraZeneca or Pfizer? The British are rapidly vaccinating and arguing over the right to choose a vaccine based on its manufacturer.

The British are currently vaccinated with vaccines from two manufacturers. One vaccine is “English”, developed by researchers at AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. The other is “snob”, developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.

The vaccination campaign in the UK is fast, much faster than in the EU. However, representatives of hospitals and clinics admit that they receive many calls and requests for one or another vaccine during the day.

Most importantly, there should be no other option – you will not be purchasing the vaccine privately. The state itself has bought, distributed and vaccinated ten million doses; the British National Health Service (NHS) does not allow anyone to skip the line, rich or poor.

Searching for the desired vaccine

“It will be a Pfizer or Oxford vaccine at the vaccination site, depending on deliveries. People can choose the vaccination site, but not the vaccine,” the NHS spokesman said.

Of course, like many systems, this can be avoided; for example, clinic staff can tell your family or friends ahead of time which vaccine is being used on specific days.

There are also people who “jump” through hospitals. Based on rumors about the use of vaccines, they register it, which cancels a visit to one or another institution.

UK officials say both vaccines are excellent – both are effective in preventing severe cases of COVID-19, and are generally safe. Not surprisingly, London commissioned a total of 140 million. doses of these vaccines and agrees to vaccinate all adults in the country before July 31.

For public health professionals, of course, the most important thing is the efficacy of the vaccine, its price, the fluid supply. It is true that patients also care about their origin, the noise of the information surrounding the vaccine and, of course, what they hear from their friends or online.

There are also people who “jump” through hospitals. Based on rumors about the use of vaccines, they register it, which cancels a visit to one or another institution.

And because both the UK and the European Union use the Pfizer / BioNTech, AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines, which differ from each other, opinions differ too.

Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine is more expensive and appears to provide better protection against more severe cases of coronavirus infections in people. Furthermore, the news from Israel is that this vaccine drastically reduces the probability of becoming infected and transmitting the virus to another unvaccinated person by up to 89 percent.

But AstraZeneca’s research data is more viscous. While the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine in clinical trials was 95%, data from the Oxford researchers, which is constantly changing, shows 60-70%. The effectiveness of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

He doesn’t want an “English” vaccine

Andrew Marr of the BBC, one of Britain’s most popular television shows, recently asked a question that turns on the minds of millions.

“If I sit at home and my doctor calls me and says he can get the vaccine, at this point, looking at the research results, I might say, ‘Great, maybe I can get the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine instead of AstraZeneca. ? The first vaccines are much more effective. “

At least in EU countries, this approach is already ingrained. In France, health workers demand American vaccines and in Italy teachers. The vaccination centers in Germany are empty because people do not want to get vaccinated with AstraZeneca.

Doubts increased when South African researchers discovered that the strain of coronavirus that had developed in that country would likely avoid the AstraZeneca vaccine trap.

Approximately a dozen countries in the Community officially recommend against vaccinating people aged 65 years and over. Officials note that very few volunteers have participated in the first trials of the vaccine, which lacks evidence of its effectiveness.

It is true that many Brits still choose the AstraZeneca vaccine, out of patriotism.

The doctor, former MP Paul William, told The Washington Post that some patients were simply giving up on a Pfizer product and said, “Thanks, no, I’ll wait for the English vaccine.”

According to Williams, this attitude may be due to the determined position of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who praises the product of “our great British scientists” every time. In addition, the British are really very proud of the University of Oxford and trust its experts.

Just call for him to hurry

Pfizer is American, but the vaccine was developed by researchers at the small German company BioNTech. This is why some Europeans call the Pfizer vaccine “German”.

So far, testimonials show that the side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine are more noticeable: headache, tiredness, possible fever, dizziness. But this is not uncommon.

“I would personally accept any vaccine that is offered to me because the most important thing is to just get vaccinated,” said Andrew Pollard, head of researchers at the University of Oxford who developed the vaccine, suggesting that the results of clinical trials should not be overestimated may not be accurate. .

“There were days when I didn’t even want to read the newspapers because the AstraZeneca vaccine was being rejected everywhere. I really don’t understand why this is so. Realistic benchmarks for vaccine effectiveness will be available soon, and then we’ll see.” added Sarah Gilbert, one of the vaccine developers.

Anesthesiologist Gareth Greenslade was vaccinated with Pfizer, but his wife received a dose of AstraZeneca.

Pfizer vaccine must be transported in special freezers and stored in large warehouses, so people are likely to get vaccinated in large hospitals.

“I wouldn’t have given up on any of them, but I wanted Pfizer because the technology is new and we doctors are curious. The AstraZeneca vaccine is quite traditional: it will protect you from death. But I liked the elegant idea of ​​mRNA technology.” G. Greenlade said.

In an ideal world, he said, people could choose a vaccine. But the reality is that Pfizer must be transported in special freezers and stored in large warehouses, so people are likely to get vaccinated in large hospitals.

And the AstraZeneca vaccine can simply be put in a simple refrigerator. This is, of course, another way of predicting that these vaccines will be used in smaller clinics or pharmacies.

After all, many people are simply not interested in such a discussion, they simply urge them to hurry. Coronavirus infections in the UK are declining rapidly, but a third national quarantine continues.

Only on Monday did the government unveil guidelines to ease restrictions on the pandemic, with plans to return students to school on March 8 and remove all restrictions on social distance beginning in mid-June.