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AstraZeneca and Biontech: which one is better? Corona vaccines in comparison

2021-01-10T09:46:57.217Z


AstraZeneca's vaccine will soon be approved in the EU. But what distinguishes it from the active ingredient from Biontech?


AstraZeneca's vaccine will soon be approved in the EU.

But what distinguishes it from the active ingredient from Biontech?

  • AstraZeneca has

    already approved

    the

    vaccine

    in the UK

    .

  • The European Union has ordered several

    hundred million doses of

    the vaccine.

  • But what is the difference to the

    Biontech vaccine

    ?

In the past year, numerous companies

around the world

worked

hard on a

vaccine against the coronavirus

, hoping to get the pandemic under control.

As

reported by echo24.de

*,

Biontech's

vaccine was

first approved in Great Britain, followed by the USA, Canada and the European Union (EU).

AstraZeneca's vaccine has now also received approval in the UK *.

A release from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) is still

pending

and, according to

gofeminin.de, will

probably take place in February at the earliest.

Months ago, the EU ordered

300 million doses of the vaccine

.

There is also an option for a further 100 million cans.

But what is the difference

between AstraZeneca and Biontech vaccines

?

Coronavirus vaccine: this is how AstraZeneca's active ingredient works

The approach to vaccine development is

completely different

for the two

vaccines against the coronavirus

.

According to the

Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI) for vaccines and biomedical drugs,

AstraZeneca's

new active ingredient

is

a so-called vector

vaccine

.

A chimpanzee cold virus is used, which cannot reproduce in humans, as

reported by

infranken.de

.

In order for the virus to

protect

against the

coronavirus

, however, the gene must be modified in such a way that it contains the blueprint for the production of the Sars-CoV-2 spike protein.

This spike protein is responsible in the body for enabling the virus to multiply.

Coronavirus vaccine: AstraZeneca relies on best practice

In the body, this blueprint then gets into some body cells, which then begin to produce this spike protein.

Since the body's own immune system does not know this protein, it begins with the production of antibodies and T cells, which are then

supposed to protect against

the

coronavirus

disease

.

So far, however, there are only a few

vaccines

that use the vector method, but it is still considered to be tried and tested and effective.

In addition to the

vaccine against the coronavirus

, the active ingredient that protects against Ebola is also based on the vector process.

Vaccine against the coronavirus: Biontech relies on new mRNA process

Biontech

meanwhile relies on an mRNA-based

vaccine

.

In contrast to conventional vaccines, according to the Mainz-based company, these contain no viral proteins, "only the information that our own cells need to produce a virus characteristic that triggers the desired immune response".

+

AtraZenca's vaccine is already being vaccinated in the UK.

© Gareth Fuller / dpa

This mRNA is released in the body and uses "small, harmless fragments of the Covid 19 virus" to explain to the cells how they can "recognize and attack the virus".

The cells remember this information and thus ensure immunity against the

coronavirus

.

In addition, not only should the replication and spread in the body be prevented, but also transmission to other people.

Coronavirus vaccine: That's how effective the active ingredients from AstraZeneca and Biontech are

The mRNA vaccine - which Moderna and CureVac are also developing - from

Biontech

has an effectiveness of around 95 percent after two vaccinations within three weeks.

AstraZeneca assumed

protection of just around 70 percent in November 2020.

In the meantime, a team of researchers at Oxford University has found that

protection of around 90 percent is achieved

with two lower

doses

.

With

two full doses

, however, the value was just 62 percent.

However, criticism has been

leveled

against the

fact that

AstraZeneca's vaccine has

only been tested on subjects under the age of 55 and therefore no information is available about its effectiveness in seniors.

Oxford / Astra vaccine shows about 90% effectiveness in the best dosage (2 vaccinations).

Stored in refrigerators, billions of euros will be produced non-profit in 2021 and, in a study, avoided all difficult processes.

A sensational success.

Congratulations Oxford https://t.co/xkgKfHABkw

- Karl Lauterbach (@Karl_Lauterbach) November 23, 2020

Vaccine against the coronavirus: differentiate between AstraZeneca and Biontech in the overview

  • Vector vs. mRNA vaccine:

    The British-Swedish company AstraZeneca uses

    the vector method

    for its vaccine against the

    coronavirus

    .

    Biontech, on the other hand, has developed a

    vaccine

    based on the mRNA.

    Unlike the vector method, this has not yet been used in practice.

  • Efficacy:

    Both vaccines are highly effective at the correct dose, but must be administered twice.

    The active ingredient from

    AstraZeneca

    achieves a protection of 90 percent, that of

    Biontech

    protects about 95 percent against infection.

  • Storage

    : Storage is one of the great advantages

    of AstraZeneca's vaccine

    .

    While the

    Biontech active ingredient

    must be stored at a temperature of -70 degrees, the vector

    vaccine

    can be stored in the refrigerator.

    Thus, it is also suitable for medical practices and a nationwide vaccination.

  • Price:

    As

    welt.de

    reports, the

    vaccine from AstraZeneca is

    also significantly cheaper than the

    Biontech competitor at

    1.78 euros per dose

    .

    This costs around 12 euros per can.

    According to

    welt.de, the

    higher costs are

    probably related to the manufacturing process.

  • Side effects:

    The side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine * hardly differ from those of the active ingredient from Biontech *.

    However, there were

    several problems with allergic reactions *

    with the

    vaccine from

    the Mainz-based company.

    *

    echo24.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network

List of rubric lists: © John Cairns / University Of Oxford

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-01-10

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