Maria Laura Avignolo
11/23/2020 11:17 AM
Clarín.com
World
Updated 11/23/2020 5:17 PM
"A
vaccine
for the world" to fight the coronavirus at the price of a cup of coffee.
Scientists at the
University of Oxford
, in collaboration with the
AstraZeneca
laboratory
, announced on Monday morning that their tests had worked well enough to ask
for immediate
regulatory approval
.
The results will be sent to a scientific journal to be analyzed by their peers but they arrived on Saturday night, in a climate of
scientific euphoria.
Unlike its competitor Pfizer, it does not need a freezer at 70 degrees below zero to be maintained in its distribution but
a common refrigerator
and in Great Britain the vaccine
will be free
.
The first doses could be received by the British before Christmas.
"Normal
life
could resume next Easter," according to the British government.
Thus, Oxford joined this vaccine race in the world led by Pfizer Biontech and Moderna.
But
four more vaccines
are already on the way.
Two injections
The vaccine involves two injections, given at least a month apart.
The results suggest that using a lower first dose could increase the efficacy to 90 percent.
However, that finding was based on limited data and can be modified.
They will
continue testing
in Asia.
Overall, a trial involving 24,000 people suggested that the vaccine was
around 70 percent effective.
It prevented serious illness and the need to be admitted to a hospital.
There are promising early signs that it could also
block transmission of the virus
.
No dangerous side effects were reported.
The British medical regulator has begun reviewing the safety and efficacy data.
The vaccine involves two injections, given at least a month apart.
Photo: Reuters
Britain ordered
100 million doses
.
Astrazeneca, the drug company that partnered with Oxford, said Monday morning that 4 million of them would be ready to be sent to nursing homes, GP clinics and other vaccination centers by the end of the year.
Oxford vaccine can be stored in a normal refrigerator.
This is why it is easier to handle than Pfizer's competitor inoculation, which should be stored at approximately
minus 70ºC
.
It is also considerably cheaper and costs a few pounds per dose.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that the vaccine should be
"a public good."
Boris Johnson praised the announcement as "incredibly exciting."
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said it would facilitate a return to normal life at Easter.
Vaccine in the fridge
Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, announced that “we have a vaccine for the world.
I think this is an incredibly exciting time for human health. "
“We have a vaccine that is very effective.
It prevents
serious illnesses
and hospitalizations.
Because the vaccine can be stored at refrigerator temperature, it can be delivered using the normal immunization delivery system.
It is already being manufactured at ten sites around the world, ”said Professor Pollard.
The vaccine can be stored at refrigerator temperature.
Photo: EFE
The Oxford team's main result of 70% effectiveness is less impressive than Pfizer's results, released this month, of more than 90%.
However, a subgroup of around 2,700 people in the Oxford trial received half a dose initially, followed by a full dose booster a month later.
The data suggests that this regimen improved effectiveness to 90 percent.
In a larger group of people who received two full doses, the vaccine was 62 percent effective.
The leading figure of 70% comes from combining the results of the two subgroups.
90% effective?
The Oxford team declined to say how many disease cases the 90 percent efficacy finding was based on.
Some experts said they were skeptical that it would reach that level of effectiveness when more results are obtained, after continuing testing in Asia.
The overall findings are based on trials conducted in the
UK and Brazil,
involving some 24,000 people.
About a quarter of them were
over 55 years old
.
However, the data does not yet show how effective the injection is in protecting high-risk groups.
It is also uncertain
how long
the protection will last.
The scientists said there were lower rates of asymptomatic infection in the vaccinated groups.
Photo: EFE
Professor Pollard said that the use of a lower first dose could mean that the vaccine reserves would increase even more.
"These findings show that we have an effective vaccine that will save many lives," he said.
"It's exciting, we've found that one of our dosing regimens can be around 90 percent effective. If this dosing regimen is used,
more people could be vaccinated
with the planned vaccine supply."
The findings come from volunteers, who had received a full schedule of dosing and
they had an
asymptomatic infection
until November 4.
The researchers said there were also lower rates of asymptomatic infection in the vaccinated groups.
This would make it the first trial to provide an answer to the key question of whether the vaccine
stops transmission and disease.
The differences
The Oxford vaccine works on
a different principle
than the Pfizer version.
The first is based on an adenovirus vector.
It uses a
harmless
chimpanzee virus
to insert a part of the coronavirus genetic code into people's cells.
This hijacks the cells and turns them into factories to produce fragments of the coronavirus surface.
In this way, it teaches the body to detect the virus.
The Oxford vaccine works on a different principle than the Pfizer version.
Photo: dpa
"Today marks an important milestone in our fight against the pandemic," said Pascal Soriot.
"The efficacy and safety of this vaccine confirm that it will be very effective against Covid-19 and will have
an immediate impact
on this public health emergency," he said.
The simple supply chain of the vaccine and its commitment is non-profit.
The Oxford vaccine is up to 90% effective in preventing COVID-19, according to tests conducted on thousands of volunteers.
The result is compared to the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which were recently shown to be 95% and 94.5% effective respectively.
The vaccine, codenamed
AZD1222,
was developed at the University of Oxford with the support of the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.
War health logistics
The NHS (the British healthcare system) now faces the largest vaccination campaign in the history of the United Kingdom.
Health logistics will be as important a deployment as that of World War II.
A total of 2,741 people were on the course that proved to be 90% effective, while 8,895 received two full doses.
When all results are tabulated, the average efficacy of the vaccine is 70%.
When the vaccine is injected, the immune system responds by producing
antibodies and T cells
that protect against
future infections
with COVID-19.
When the vaccine is injected, the immune system responds by producing antibodies and T cells.
Photo: dpa
Professor Pollard continued: "We believe that by giving a smaller first dose we are priming the immune response to respond better. We are going to dig deeper into that. We started work this morning."
"It is critical to understand what everyone is measuring. What counts as COVID disease varies between different protocols." If we only counted hospitalizations, then we would be more effective.
We count minor illnesses and it is much more difficult to protect oneself from them, "he clarified.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "This is really encouraging news from the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine that we have obviously supported from the beginning." I am very happy, I really welcome these figures, "he said on Sky News.
Relief to the government
Hancock added that he expected the information to be sent to the regulator to make sure it is secure.
"We have orders for 100 million doses and if all goes well, most of the launch will be in the new year," Hancock said.
"So having two vaccines that seem to be effective, well done, in the 90% range, is really very good news.
Fantastic news
," he continued.
According to Professor Sarah Gilbert from Oxford, who was number two on the team, there was a
reduction in transmission
after administration of the inoculation.
"We are seeing a reduction in asymptomatic infections. It appears that the vaccine protects against serious illnesses and minor illnesses, which will make a big difference in transmission. This is good news overall," said Dr. Gilbert.
Incredibly exciting news the Oxford vaccine has proved so effective in trials.
There are still further safety checks ahead, but these are fantastic results.
Well done to our brilliant scientists at @UniofOxford & @AstraZeneca, and all who volunteered in the trials.
https://t.co/84o8TKhQga
- Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) November 23, 2020
Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: "Incredibly exciting news that the Oxford vaccine has proven so effective in trials. There are still more safety checks ahead, but these are fantastic results."
England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty said the news was a "very encouraging step forward".
The company reported that it will have the equivalent of 20 million "undiluted" doses in bulk, ready to be tube placed in the UK by the end of the year, and another 4 million "fill and finish" in small tubes ready for shipment. distribution.
Paris, correspondent
ap