The COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca could be approved “shortly after” Christmas, according to Regius University professor of medicine Regius, creating hope for millions of people and businesses affected by pandemics across the country.
John Bell told BBC Radio 4’s Today program that the British medical regulator was expected to give the green light to the experimental photo taken jointly by AstraZeneca AZN,
and Oxford University, “soon enough.”
The regulatory agency for medicines and medical products has received “more data sets” about the candidate for the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, Bell told the BBC, adding that he has “no worries that the data looks better than ever”.
“I doubt we’re going to do Christmas now, but right after Christmas I’d expect it,” Bell said.
Shares in AstraZeneca AZN,
which have risen by more than 4% so far this year, trading 0.57% lower in London on Wednesday.
Read: The COVID AstraZeneca – Oxford image is “safe and efficient”, showing the complete data of the process
Data from studies conducted by AstraZeneca in the UK and Brazil, published in The Lancet on December 9, showed that the vaccine candidate is 62% effective for study participants who received two full doses, but 90% for a smaller sub-drug. half administered, then a full dose.
The British government has ordered 100 million doses of AstraZeneca and Oxford shots, with 40 million doses available by the end of March 2021.
The approval would help speed up immunizations across the country, as it faces a mutant variant of coronavirus that could be 70% more contagious and is thought to be behind a recent increase in COVID-19 cases in London and the South. eastern England.
Read: A new Covid-19 strain closes Europe. What you need to know.
As of Sunday, more than 40 countries have closed their borders for arrivals in the UK to stop the spread of the new strain. However, late Tuesday, France reopened its borders with the United Kingdom for travelers and truck drivers who show evidence of a negative coronavirus test in the last 72 hours.
AstraZeneca told Reuters on Tuesday that its vaccine candidate should be effective against the new strain of the coronavirus variant and said studies are underway to analyze the impact of the variant.
“AZD1222 (the candidate for the AstraZeneca vaccine) contains the genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein, and the changes to the genetic code observed in this new viral strain do not appear to change the structure of the spike protein,” an AstraZeneca spokesman told the agency. of news.
Read: BioNTech chief says more tests needed to see if vaccine protects against new strain COVID-19
AstraZeneca’s comments come after BioNTech BNTX CEO
said the vaccine of the German company, which was developed together with the American partner Pfizer PFE,
it needed several tests to determine if the shot could provide protection against the new variant.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is already used in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and several other countries. It was approved by the European Medicines Authority and the European Commission on Tuesday, with deliveries set to begin on Saturday. Germany, Austria and Italy are among those countries that have said they intend to start vaccinations on Sunday.