Vanesa Lopez
12/30/2020 2:27 PM
Clarín.com
Society
Updated 12/30/2020 2:29 PM
The coronavirus vaccine from the University of Oxford and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has been approved in the UK.
And
its
emergency
use was
also
authorized
in Argentina.
"This National Administration informs that, through Provision 9271/20, it authorized the registration in the Registry of Medicinal Specialties (REM) of the product COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca and generic name VACCINE AGAINST COVID19 ChAdOx1-S recombinant, from the firm AstraZeneca SA" , dismissed the ANMAT statement.
In the first days of November, Argentina signed an agreement with the British laboratory AstraZeneca for
22.4 million doses
.
The authorization process at ANMAT had started a month earlier, on October 5.
So far, the Argentine health agency has authorized two vaccines against the coronavirus: the Russian Sputnik V, of which 300,000 doses have already begun to be applied to health personnel, and that of Pfizer.
The national Health Minister, Ginés González García, told AM750 radio that
in late March or early April "
the distribution of AstraZeneca doses
begins massively."
And he detailed that the contract is "finished, signed, and partially paid."
The United Kingdom - home to the laboratory that developed the vaccine - was the first country to authorize emergency use.
There they will begin to apply it
on January 4.
The vaccine is developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca.
AFP photo.
Asked about this, AstraZeneca shared
a statement
with
Clarín
stating that "regulatory interactions continue around the world for the next approvals."
Although
they do not give details about possible dates.
They are also seeking to be listed as an emergency use by the World Health Organization (WHO), "to accelerate the path to the availability of vaccines in
low- and middle-income countries
."
According to the statement, the company is working with its global partners to continue to develop manufacturing capacity for up to
3 billion doses
of the vaccine globally in 2021 on an ongoing basis, pending regulatory approvals.
In this regard, UK Secretary of State for Health and Welfare, Matt Hancock, said: "This vaccine will be available to some of the
poorest regions of the world
at low cost, helping to protect countless people from this terrible disease." .
In Argentina, it is produced at the mAbxience plant in Garin.
AFP photo.
While Professor Andrew Pollard, Lead Investigator of the Oxford Vaccine Trial, commented that they will "protect health and the economy when the vulnerable are vaccinated everywhere, as many as possible, as soon as possible."
The vaccine
is being produced in Argentina
and Mexico, in a joint project in South America.
In our country, it is developed at the mAbxience plant, which was inaugurated in February in Garín and belongs to the Insud Group.
Sources from the Insud Group indicated to
Clarín
that they are producing "at risk", as if it were approved, "with the intention of being able to be available as soon as it is approved."
They will produce 150 million doses for all of Latin America, except Brazil.
It is a "viral vector" vaccine.
It is based on another virus (a
chimpanzee adenovirus
) that was transformed and adapted to fight the coronavirus.
UK Secretary of State for Health and Welfare Matt Hancock said the vaccine will be available to some of the world's poorest regions at low cost.
AP Photo.
Adenoviruses are viruses that cause common colds, genetically modified so that they do not reproduce in the body (and therefore harmless).
They serve to transport genetic material of the virus to be immunized.
In this case, a part of the coronavirus "spike" protein.
One aspect to note is its low value, at $ 4 per dose.
It is much easier to transport and administer than Pfizer and Sputnik V: in this case, it can be stored at the temperature of a refrigerator, between 2 ° C and 8 ° C.
"
It is the cheapest,
" said Marta Cohen, an Argentine pediatric pathologist living in the United Kingdom, who went viral precisely because of a video in which she explained how this vaccine works.
In dialogue with Télam, he stressed that the required temperature "will make it easier to transport and easier to take to developing countries."
It is the first vaccine whose efficacy results were
validated by a scientific journal
.
According to data published by
The Lancet
on December 8, based on independent analysis, "it is safe and effective."
The vaccine has an average of 70.4% effectiveness.
AP Photo.
The journal published partial results of clinical trials, which indicate an
average of 70.4% effectiveness
.
Its efficacy was 90% for the volunteers who initially received a half dose and a month later a full dose, but only 62% for another group that was vaccinated with two full doses administered one month apart.
The half-dose injection was due to an error and only a small group had followed the second protocol.
This generated criticism and concern and led the company to announce on November 26 that an "additional study" was carried out to verify its results.
"We believe that we have discovered
the winning formula
and how to obtain an efficacy that, after two doses, is equal to all the others," Pascal Soriot, the chief pharmacist behind the vaccine, told the
Sunday Times on Sunday.
Look also
Great Britain applies the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine from 4 January: all you need to know
Alicia Kirchner will not be given the Russian vaccine against the coronavirus until it is approved for people over 60