LONDON: The Covid-19 vaccine, developed by British drug group AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, has achieved a “winning formula” for efficacy, the company’s CEO said Sunday.
In an interview with the Sunday Times newspaper, the company’s CEO, Pascal Soriot, said the vaccine must be “effective” against the new, highly communicable variant of the deadly virus, which Britain has shut down completely.
The Oxford vaccine, which also has a link with the Serum Institute of India, is expected to receive UK approval before Thursday, accelerating the delivery of the shot to the most vulnerable.
Read our coronavirus live blog for all the latest news and updates
Soriot claimed the vaccine provides “100 percent protection” against severe Covid’s disease that requires hospitalization.
He added that he believes studies will show his company has achieved vaccine effectiveness equal to Pfizer-BioNTech at 95 percent and Moderna at 94.5 percent.
“We think we came up with the winning formula and figured out how to get efficacy that will be present in everyone after two doses,” said the CEO, saying that only data would be published at any given time.
The UK government announced on December 23 that the developers of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine had submitted their data to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Approval is expected to be granted Monday to roll out the jab, The Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported.
The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine was the first coronavirus to be approved for use by the UK’s independent drug regulatory agency and has been given to 600,000 of the country’s most vulnerable people as of last month.
Previous studies have shown different results in the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca image. The vaccine initially showed an average effectiveness of 70 percent, but that level jumped to 90 percent depending on the dosage.
Behind this average figure from large-scale studies in the UK and Brazil was a 62 percent effectiveness for those vaccinated with two full doses of the injection.
However, for volunteers who first received a half dose and a full dose a month later, the vaccine was found to be 90 percent 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 about the discrepancy in the results was widely criticized. Soriot said he didn’t expect the backlash that followed.
“We assumed people would be a little disappointed, that’s for sure,” he said. “But we did not expect that storm”.
Great expectations have been placed on the AstraZeneca recording, originally based on a weakened version of a chimpanzee virus, due to its low cost.
AstraZeneca’s vaccine also enjoys a logistical advantage over the Pfizer-BioNTech alternative, as it can be stored, transported and handled under normal refrigerated conditions between two and eight degrees Celsius (36-46 Fahrenheit) for at least six months.
That’s a long way from the -70C needed for Pfizer / BioNTech’s offering and would allow the use of the existing chilled supply chain to cut costs.
As a vote of confidence for the homegrown vaccine, it is expected that most of the UK requirements will be met by the shot.
The government has ordered 100 million doses, with 40 million doses due to be available by the end of March.
British officials will hope 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 dead.
Over the past week, the number of cases has risen across the country, especially in the South East of England, attributed to a new strain of the virus believed to be more contagious, first identified in the UK.
According to a British study, the species is 50 to 74 percent more contagious.
In an effort to stem the spread of the disease, millions in Britain were placed under tighter lockdown restrictions that took effect on December 26.
Dozens of countries have also imposed travel restrictions on the UK to stop the spread of the new species.
Finance Minister Rishi Sunak wrote in the Mail on Sunday newspaper that it was “a difficult year for everyone in this country.”
However, he added that “the early rollout of vaccines – and the incredible work of our scientists and NHS – means that we can now see light at the end of the tunnel.”
Nearly 200 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be made by the end of the year, the British drug company said, and more than 700 million worldwide by the end of March next year.
In an interview with the Sunday Times newspaper, the company’s CEO, Pascal Soriot, said the vaccine must be “effective” against the new, highly communicable variant of the deadly virus, which Britain has shut down completely.
The Oxford vaccine, which also has a link with the Serum Institute of India, is expected to receive UK approval before Thursday, accelerating the delivery of the shot to the most vulnerable.
Read our coronavirus live blog for all the latest news and updates
Soriot claimed the vaccine provides “100 percent protection” against severe Covid’s disease that requires hospitalization.
He added that he believes studies will show his company has achieved vaccine effectiveness equal to Pfizer-BioNTech at 95 percent and Moderna at 94.5 percent.
“We think we came up with the winning formula and figured out how to get efficacy that will be present in everyone after two doses,” said the CEO, saying that only data would be published at any given time.
The UK government announced on December 23 that the developers of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine had submitted their data to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Approval is expected to be granted Monday to roll out the jab, The Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported.
The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine was the first coronavirus to be approved for use by the UK’s independent drug regulatory agency and has been given to 600,000 of the country’s most vulnerable people as of last month.
Previous studies have shown different results in the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca image. The vaccine initially showed an average effectiveness of 70 percent, but that level jumped to 90 percent depending on the dosage.
Behind this average figure from large-scale studies in the UK and Brazil was a 62 percent effectiveness for those vaccinated with two full doses of the injection.
However, for volunteers who first received a half dose and a full dose a month later, the vaccine was found to be 90 percent 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 about the discrepancy in the results was widely criticized. Soriot said he didn’t expect the backlash that followed.
“We assumed people would be a little disappointed, that’s for sure,” he said. “But we did not expect that storm”.
Great expectations have been placed on the AstraZeneca recording, originally based on a weakened version of a chimpanzee virus, due to its low cost.
AstraZeneca’s vaccine also enjoys a logistical advantage over the Pfizer-BioNTech alternative, as it can be stored, transported and handled under normal refrigerated conditions between two and eight degrees Celsius (36-46 Fahrenheit) for at least six months.
That’s a long way from the -70C needed for Pfizer / BioNTech’s offering and would allow the use of the existing chilled supply chain to cut costs.
As a vote of confidence for the homegrown vaccine, it is expected that most of the UK requirements will be met by the shot.
The government has ordered 100 million doses, with 40 million doses due to be available by the end of March.
British officials will hope 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 dead.
Over the past week, the number of cases has risen across the country, especially in the South East of England, attributed to a new strain of the virus believed to be more contagious, first identified in the UK.
According to a British study, the species is 50 to 74 percent more contagious.
In an effort to stem the spread of the disease, millions in Britain were placed under tighter lockdown restrictions that took effect on December 26.
Dozens of countries have also imposed travel restrictions on the UK to stop the spread of the new species.
Finance Minister Rishi Sunak wrote in the Mail on Sunday newspaper that it was “a difficult year for everyone in this country.”
However, he added that “the early rollout of vaccines – and the incredible work of our scientists and NHS – means that we can now see light at the end of the tunnel.”
Nearly 200 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be made by the end of the year, the British drug company said, and more than 700 million worldwide by the end of March next year.