LONDON: The Covid-19 vaccine developed by the British drug group AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford has obtained a “winning formula” for its effectiveness, the company’s executive director said on Sunday.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, the company’s CEO, Pascal Soriot, said the vaccine “should be” effective against the new highly transmissible variant of the deadly virus, which has put England in a complete deadlock.
The Oxford vaccine, which also has a link to the Serum Institute of India, is expected to gain approval in the UK by Thursday, accelerating the supply of jab to the most vulnerable groups.
Read our live coronavirus blog for all the latest news and updates
Soriot said the vaccine offers “100% protection” against severe Covid disease that requires hospitalization.
He added that he believes that studies will show that his company has achieved a vaccine efficacy equal to Pfizer-BioNTech at 95 percent and Moderna at 94.5 percent.
“We think we’ve found the winning formula and how to get effectiveness that, after two doses, is there with everyone else,” the chief executive said, saying only that the data would be published “at some point.”
The UK government announced on December 23 that the developers of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine had submitted their data to the Medicines and Medicines Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Approval will be given on Monday for the launch of the jab, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was the first coronavirus vaccine to be licensed for use by the UK’s independent drug regulator and was administered to 600,000 of the country’s most vulnerable people last month.
Previous studies have shown varying results in the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca shot. The vaccine initially showed an average efficacy of 70%, but this level increased to 90% depending on the dose.
Behind this average figure from large-scale studies in the UK and Brazil was an efficiency of 62% for those who were vaccinated with two full doses of vaccine.
However, for volunteers who first received a half dose and then a full dose a month later, the vaccine was 90% effective.
Soriot said he was “surprised” by the initial findings. “We would have preferred a simpler set of results,” he added.
The lack of clarity and transparency on the discrepancy in results has been widely criticized. Soriot said he did not expect the retreat that followed.
“I assumed people would be a little disappointed, that’s for sure,” he said. “But we didn’t expect that storm.”
High hopes were placed on the AstraZeneca shot, originally based on a weakened version of a chimpanzee virus, due to its low cost.
The AstraZeneca vaccine also enjoys a logistical advantage over the Pfizer-BioNTech alternative, as it can be stored, transported and handled under normal refrigeration conditions between two and eight degrees Celsius (36-46 Fahrenheit) for at least six months. .
This is far from the -70C required for the Pfizer / BioNTech offering and could allow the use of the existing refrigeration supply chain to reduce costs.
In a vote of confidence for the vaccine itself, most of the UK’s requirements are expected to be met by the jab.
The government has ordered 100 million doses, with 40 million doses scheduled to be available by the end of March.
British officials will hope that the trust will be rewarded, not least because the country has been one of the countries most affected by the pandemic, with more than 70,000 deaths.
An increase in cases has hit the country in the last week, falling mainly in the south-east of England and accusing a new strain of the virus that is believed to be more infectious, which has been identified for the first time in the UK.
According to a British study, the strain is 50% to 74% more contagious.
In an effort to counter the spread of the disease, millions of people in the UK have been subject to stricter blocking restrictions, which came into force on 26 December.
Dozens of countries have also imposed travel restrictions on the United Kingdom to stop the spread of the new strain.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Finance Minister Rishi Sunak acknowledged that it was “a difficult year for everyone in this country.”
However, he added that “the early launch of vaccines – and the incredible work of scientists and the NHS – means we can now see light at the end of the tunnel.”
Nearly 200 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine will be made before the end of the year, said the British drug manufacturer and over 700 million worldwide by the end of March next year.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, the company’s CEO, Pascal Soriot, said the vaccine “should be” effective against the new highly transmissible variant of the deadly virus, which has put England in a complete deadlock.
The Oxford vaccine, which also has a link to the Serum Institute of India, is expected to gain approval in the UK by Thursday, accelerating the supply of jab to the most vulnerable groups.
Read our live coronavirus blog for all the latest news and updates
Soriot said the vaccine offers “100% protection” against severe Covid disease that requires hospitalization.
He added that he believes that studies will show that his company has achieved a vaccine efficacy equal to Pfizer-BioNTech at 95 percent and Moderna at 94.5 percent.
“We think we’ve found the winning formula and how to get effectiveness that, after two doses, is there with everyone else,” the chief executive said, saying only that the data would be published “at some point.”
The UK government announced on December 23 that the developers of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine had submitted their data to the Medicines and Medicines Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Approval will be given on Monday for the launch of the jab, the Sunday Telegraph reported.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was the first coronavirus vaccine to be licensed for use by the UK’s independent drug regulator and was administered to 600,000 of the country’s most vulnerable people last month.
Previous studies have shown varying results in the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca shot. The vaccine initially showed an average efficacy of 70%, but this level increased to 90% depending on the dose.
Behind this average figure from large-scale studies in the UK and Brazil was an efficiency of 62% for those who were vaccinated with two full doses of vaccine.
However, for volunteers who first received a half dose and then a full dose a month later, the vaccine was 90% effective.
Soriot said he was “surprised” by the initial findings. “We would have preferred a simpler set of results,” he added.
The lack of clarity and transparency on the discrepancy in results has been widely criticized. Soriot said he did not expect the retreat that followed.
“I assumed people would be a little disappointed, that’s for sure,” he said. “But we didn’t expect that storm.”
High hopes were placed on the AstraZeneca shot, originally based on a weakened version of a chimpanzee virus, due to its low cost.
The AstraZeneca vaccine also enjoys a logistical advantage over the Pfizer-BioNTech alternative, as it can be stored, transported and handled under normal refrigeration conditions between two and eight degrees Celsius (36-46 Fahrenheit) for at least six months. .
This is far from the -70C required for the Pfizer / BioNTech offering and could allow the use of the existing refrigeration supply chain to reduce costs.
In a vote of confidence for the vaccine itself, most of the UK’s requirements are expected to be met by the jab.
The government has ordered 100 million doses, with 40 million doses scheduled to be available by the end of March.
British officials will hope that the trust will be rewarded, not least because the country has been one of the countries most affected by the pandemic, with more than 70,000 deaths.
An increase in cases has hit the country in the last week, falling mainly in the south-east of England and accusing a new strain of the virus that is believed to be more infectious, which has been identified for the first time in the UK.
According to a British study, the strain is 50% to 74% more contagious.
In an effort to counter the spread of the disease, millions of people in the UK have been subject to stricter blocking restrictions, which came into force on 26 December.
Dozens of countries have also imposed travel restrictions on the United Kingdom to stop the spread of the new strain.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Finance Minister Rishi Sunak acknowledged that it was “a difficult year for everyone in this country.”
However, he added that “the early launch of vaccines – and the incredible work of scientists and the NHS – means we can now see light at the end of the tunnel.”
Nearly 200 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine will be made before the end of the year, said the British drug manufacturer and over 700 million worldwide by the end of March next year.