The medical director assured the public last night that vaccines should continue to be effective against the new “mutant” strain in force in the UK – amid signs that the game-changing Oxford Jab will soon be approved.
Offering positive news on a gloomy day in the fight against coronavirus, Professor Chris Whitty said there was no indication that the vaccines developed so far would be ineffective against the new strain. It means that it should be possible to protect the country from Covid-19 in a matter of months, with widespread vaccination.
Last night, Boris Johnson said 350,000 people had already been vaccinated and there were hopes that this figure would reach half a million in the next day or two.
By Christmas, the number of inoculated people is expected to reach 200,000 a day, with the NHS vaccinating people on Christmas Day as well as on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.
Professor Chris Whitty said there were no indications that the vaccines developed so far would be ineffective against the new strain.
In another positive development, government sources said the Oxford vaccine is likely to be approved by the Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) by the end of this month, paving the way for the first beneficiaries to receive shots before the New Year. .
Speaking during last night’s press conference, Prof. Whitty said that while there were “theoretical reasons” to suspect that some genetic mutations could affect the effectiveness of vaccines, “the assumption working at this time … is that the response to the vaccine should be appropriate for this. virus [variant]’.
Scientists believe that a small number of changes in the virus’s peak protein, which is where the jab concentrates its firepower, are very unlikely to make them useless.
Meanwhile, the Oxford jab, produced in conjunction with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca, is expected to be approved within 10 days. This will revolutionize the inoculation program because, unlike the Pfizer already used, it should not be frozen and can be treated as a normal flu vaccine.
Boris Johnson said 350,000 people have already been vaccinated and there are hopes that the figure will reach half a million in the next day or two.
It should also be available soon in much larger quantities than the Pfizer vaccine that has suffered supply problems.
These two key benefits of the Oxford Jab will open the door to the NHS using a network of mass vaccination centers in stadiums, conference centers and other venues in preparation across the country.
Smaller family surgeons will also be able to join, while the Oxford test will allow more mobile vaccination teams to go to nursing homes.
The vaccination campaign, which began almost two weeks ago, has not been without tooth problems.
Manufacturing problems at Pfizer’s Belgian plant have meant that an early UK target of getting 10 million doses before the New Year is abandoned and even now officials refuse to say how long it has come. The UK has ordered 40 million doses.
These two key benefits of the Oxford Jab will open the door to the NHS using a network of mass vaccination centers in stadiums, conference centers and other venues in preparation across the country. Pictured: A bottle of coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University
Ministers initially declined to say how many people were vaccinated. When the figure was finally published last Wednesday – 137,897 after eight days of vaccination – she was surprised that it was not higher.
There have also been stories about the £ 15 Pfizer vaccine spreading and uneven distribution across the country.
Once a family cabinet receives the batch of 975 doses, delivered in a frozen box at -70C, all must be used within three and a half days of thawing. Between thawing and administration, they must be kept in the refrigerator.
At Harborough Field Surgery in Rushden, Northamptonshire, hundreds of doses are believed to have been destroyed due to a refrigerator failure, delaying vaccinations. The operation apologized, saying the Pfizer vaccine “represents a series of complex logistical challenges”.
Ian McCubbin, UK production leader for Vaccine Taskforce, said the “vast majority” of the government’s commissioned 100 million doses of Oxford will be made in the UK. In what he called “weirdness”, the initial doses will come from Germany and the Netherlands.
However, a big question remains: what dosing regimen will the Oxford Jab approve of the MHRA? Studies in 9,000 volunteers showed two full doses – one then another 28 days later – produced a protection rate of 62%.
Studies in 9,000 volunteers showed two full doses – one then another 28 days later – produced a protection rate of 62%. Pictured: A volunteer is given the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University
But in another study, in which the recipients received half a dose and then a full dose, the protection rate was 90%. But this process contained only 2,700 people, none over the age of 55.
Scientists point out that both dosing regimens for Oxford jab appear to provide good protection against serious disease, as no volunteer who received it needed hospital treatment. Last night, the MHRA declined to say what dosing regimen it was evaluating, citing “commercial confidentiality.”
The government’s hopes of rapidly inoculating tens of millions, made increasingly urgent by the new strain, are largely based on these two vaccines. However, it also ordered seven million doses of Moderna mRNA vaccine, which has just been approved for use in the United States.