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Four vaccines stand out as the most relevant to occupy the first place in the vaccine race.
Area Director Geir Bukholm of the National Institute of Public Health says the Astra Zeneca and Pfizer vaccines can be approved simultaneously in the EU. Photograph: Stian Lysberg Solum / NTB
News came in Monday that Pfizer’s vaccine is showing very promising results – so far it has protected nine out of ten against the virus.
But it is the Astra Zeneca vaccine that has been most talked about in Norway. It has been thought to be at the forefront of the race.
– It was no surprise that Pfizer pointed out that its result will come sooner. But it could also have been the Astra Zeneca.
Here’s what area director Geir Bukholm says at the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH). He is leading the work on the corona vaccine.
– Both pharmaceutical companies are in phase three of the studies. The two vaccines can be approved around the same time by EMA, the European Medicines Agency, he says.
Astra Zeneca can start getting vaccinated in late December, according to Dagens Nyheter.
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Read more about the Pfizer vaccine here: Can this vaccine stop the pandemic? So far, it has protected nine out of ten from the virus.
Different methods
The Astra Zeneca vaccine uses a different type of technology than the Pfizer vaccine. It is based on a weakened virus, which can cause mild respiratory infections, among other things.
The virus has been engineered to contain the protein S gene. This protein is found on the surface of the coronavirus. When the manipulated virus enters the body, it will react by producing antibodies against the coronavirus.
– The choice between the two vaccines will depend on the type of properties they have. They may have different characteristics for which age groups they protect best. They can also contribute to varying degrees to reducing the spread of infection in the population, says Bukholm.
– Only when we get the list of the real properties of these two vaccines can we decide how they will be used in Norway.
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Who should get the coronary vaccine first? It depends on the effect.
– Will different countries choose different vaccines and carry out different evaluations?
– She can. But if one is indisputably better than the other, it is likely that most countries with good infrastructure and economy will choose the best one. If the vaccines have different properties, it is conceivable that both are used, but for different population groups.
It must be stored at extremely low temperatures.
It assumes that the evaluations carried out will be quite similar between countries, at least within the EU.
The mRNA vaccine, like the one from Pfizer, will be more demanding to distribute and store because it requires very low temperatures – somewhere between minus 80 and 60 degrees for long-term storage.
An mRNA vaccine, like the Pfizer vaccine, will be more difficult to distribute and store in a low-income country, according to NIPH Director Geir Bukholm. Photo: Cornelius Poppe / NTB
– But there are things that can be solved with current technology. In a country like Norway, it will not be decisive.
But an mRNA vaccine, like the Pfizer vaccine, will be more difficult to distribute and store in a low-income country, according to the FHI director.
Of the other vaccines on the way, Bukholm mentions the one Johnson and Johnson / Jansen collaborate on. This technology is very similar to that used by the Astra Zeneca.
One American vaccine, Moderna, is an mRNA vaccine similar to the Pfizer vaccine.
– These four are probably among the first relevant vaccines, Bukholm believes.
By the end of 2021, there will probably be more vaccines of the protein component type. This means that the viral protein is produced in large quantities and purified so that it appears as a finished protein.
It is a method similar to some of the current vaccines.
The fourth vaccine technology is inactivated vaccines. It is used, among other things, by Chinese vaccine manufacturers. Vaccines contain the complete virus, but the virus has been killed.
Ten vaccines in the last phase
According to The New York Times’ ongoing vaccine review, there are now ten vaccines that have reached phase three of the studies.
It is too early to say which of them will give clear results. The vaccines are given to thousands of people to see how many vaccinated people still get sick, compared to those who receive placebo (dumb vaccine). These studies are also large enough to detect rare side effects that are not detected in smaller phase two studies.
China and Russia have approved vaccines without waiting for the results of phase three studies.
Researchers around the world are testing a total of 52 vaccines in human clinical trials. In addition, 87 vaccines are being tested in animals in so-called preclinical studies.
