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Israel is said to be in the last phase of negotiations with the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca for the purchase of “millions” of doses of its vaccine whose clinical trials are still underway, premier Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Friday.
Netanyahu said “the final details will be finalized within hours, before an agreement is signed that will result in Israel’s acquisition of millions of doses of the COVID-19 vaccine which has been developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. ‘.
It would be the third agreement signed by Israel on vaccines to fight the pandemic, after those reached with Pfizer and Moderna. Israel is also negotiating with Russia for its “Sputnik V” vaccine.
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“My policy is that anyone who wants a vaccine should be able to get it,” Netanyahu said, referring to recent government denials of its alleged intention to make it mandatory.
“We will continue to work to ensure that there are enough vaccines for all citizens who want them,” he said.
According to Channel 13, the deal will cover ten million doses that will vaccinate five million people.
Pfizer said Friday that the company has asked U.S. regulators to allow emergency use of its coronavirus vaccine, signaling the start of a process that could possibly lead to a limited number of vaccinations as soon as possible. next month.
Illustrative photo: COVID-19 vaccine vials and syringes with the logo of the US pharmaceutical company Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, November 17, 2020 (Justin Tallis / AFP)
Moderna is also expected to apply for an emergency marketing authorization within a few weeks.
AstraZeneca isn’t that far along in the process, but the company said Thursday that in its first clinical trials, its product appeared to elicit a robust immune response in healthy older adults.
The vaccine caused fewer side effects in people 56 years of age and older than younger ones, which is a significant finding, with the number of severe cases of COVID-19 found disproportionately in the elderly. he said in a press release announcing the results of his phase II clinical trials.
The manufacturer said Phase III trials would be longer and more detailed to confirm these initial results.
Immune responses tend to decline in older people, with the immune system gradually slowing down with old age. This makes the elderly more vulnerable to infections caused by diseases.
“Consequently, it is crucial that COVID-19 vaccines are tested in this group which is also a priority group for immunization,” commented André Pollard, professor at Oxford and author of the study on the results which was published in Hand.
500 people participated in Phase II and received two doses of the vaccine or two doses of placebo. 240 were over 70 years old.
Immune responses were assessed on the day of vaccination and then on several occasions over the following weeks.
These responses were “similar” across all age groups, the researchers noted.
“The research showed that an immune response took place in all age groups, including participants over the age of 70,” said Michael Head, a global health researcher at the University of Southampton who, for his part, , was not involved in clinical trials.
“And since older populations will be one of the priority groups for vaccination when a vaccine becomes available, that’s good news,” he added.
The product developed by Oxford / AstraZeneca is one of 48 vaccines currently tested in humans, according to the World Health Organization.
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