New Telegraph

COVID-19: Oxford, AstraZeneca unveil 90% efficacy vaccine

COVID-19

 

 

Clinical trials of a new Coronavirus vaccine developed by pharmaceutical giant, AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford have shown to be up to 90 per cent effective at preventing the virus infection.

 

The researchers explained that their jab on the average, gives 70 per cent protection, when combining the results of two different dosing regimens.

 

The protection of volunteers who were given two high doses was 62 per cent, but rose to 90 per cent when volunteers were given a low dose followed by a high one. They suggested that the vaccine is not as powerful as two vaccines already announced by other firms.

 

The interim analysis of phase 3 clinical trials showed the results of two different dosing regimens. A 90 per cent affectivity rate was achieved when a half dose was given first, followed by a full dose of the vaccine at least a month later. A lower 62 per cent figure came from patients given two full doses, at least a month apart.

 

According to them, the flu vaccine typically offers between 40 per cent and 60 per cent protection, depending on the strain that year, and was expected to cost just £2 per dose and could be stored cheaply in a normal fridge.

 

Although the vaccines earlier developed by Pfizer and Moderna in the U.S. showed 95 per cent protection, both vaccines, unlike the Oxford vaccine, were more expensive and have to be stored between minus 70C and minus 20C, thus requiring expensive specialist freezers and huge supplies of dry ice to prevent them from getting spoilt.

 

The Oxford’s jab has been viewed as Britain’s best chance of mass-inoculation of the population by the end of Spring, as 4 million doses were ready to be administered within the next one month once the jab was approved. A total of 100 million jabs have been ordered for in total.

 

The Anglo-Swedish drug maker said that results showed the vaccine was “highly effective in preventing COVID-19,” the disease caused by the new Coronavirus, and that there were no hospitalizations or severe cases in anyone who received the experimental drug.

 

“Today marks an important milestone in our fight against the pandemic,” AstraZeneca’s chief executive Pascal Soriot said. The international race to find a vaccine to counter Coronavirus infections, and therefore stop the pandemic, has already seen two major competitors. U.S. pharmaceuticals giant, Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech have announced that their drug is 95 per cent effective, and that there were no safety concerns.

 

The companies were already applying for an emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The U.S. pharmaceutical firm, Moderna, on November16, had announced that its COVID-19 vaccine candidate was 94.5 per cent effective.

 

Oxford University’s Andrew Pollard said that “these findings show that we have an effective vaccine that will save many lives.” “Excitingly, we’ve found  that one of our dosing regimens may be around 90 per cent effective and if this dosing regime is used, more people could be vaccinated with planned vaccine supply,” Pollard said.

 

The vaccine entered phase 3 trials in September. They were temporarily stopped because of health concerns with a participant in Britain, but have since been resumed.

 

Unlike the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines, the Astrazeneca drug does not use mRNA technology to fight the virus in the body. It is designed to stimulate the production of antibodies and T-cells, which then attack the virus. The vaccine “contains the genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein.

 

After vaccination, the surface spike protein is produced, priming the immune system to attack the SARS-CoV-2 virus if it later infects the body.” Experts cautioned that it may be too early to conclude how effective the newly announced vaccine is, and that more data was required.

 

This data will be eagerly awaited by several countries that have pre-ordered millions of doses from AstraZeneca and Oxford. The European Union alone has ordered 300 million doses. The EU, the United States, Britain, Japan and Brazil have all signed initial contracts with AstraZeneca for vaccine deliveries if the medication is approved by regulators.

 

 

More than 24,000 volunteers were involved in Oxford’s phase three trials in the UK and Brazil, half of which were given the vaccine and the rest were given a fake jab.

 

There were only 30 cases of COVID- 19 in people given the vaccine compared to 101 in the placebo group.

 

None of the participants who took the vaccine fell seriously ill. The result also showed lower levels of asymptomatic infection in the smaller dose group.

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