AstraZeneca promises a vaccine against new variants of the coronavirus

Maria Laura Avignolo

02/11/2021 8:54 AM

• Clarín.com

• World

Updated 02/11/2021 8:54 AM

The

AstraZeneca

laboratory

announced on Thursday that it is on its way to launch a vaccine against the coronavirus that is effective "against new variants" and that it will be available "by the European autumn."

The company, which has produced a Covid-19 vaccine in conjunction with the

University of Oxford

, said clinical trials for the next generation of injections would begin in the European spring.

The plan would be to

go into mass production in six to nine months

.

Releasing the annual results for AstraZeneca, CEO Pascal Soriot said there should be a drop in hospital admissions "very soon" as a result of the launch of the vaccine in the UK.

AstraZeneca will deliver 100 million doses of its current vaccine worldwide this month, doubling to 200 million a month in April.

"One hundred million doses in February means 100 million vaccines, which means hundreds of thousands of serious infections avoided and also means thousands of deaths avoided," Soriot said.

News in development

Paris, correspondent