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The UK may soon find itself in a “reasonable position” due to its approach to coronavirus vaccines, a member of the emergency science advisory group announced today.
Professor John Edmunds of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine said today that the UK could be in a reasonable position in the coming months. With the second wave of the virus across the country, Professor Edmunds said a successful vaccine could soon put Britain in a better position. During a meeting of the Science and Technology and Health and Welfare Committee, Professor Edmunds said the vaccine task force was smart about investing in six different possible drugs.
If successful, the vaccines could deliver 340 million doses of the drug.
He said: “If vaccines are around the corner, I think we should try to keep the incidence as low as possible because we may be using vaccines in the not too distant future.
“I think we will be in a reasonable position in months.
“I don’t think we’re going to vaccinate everyone, but for starters, maybe the people at greatest risk, health workers and so on.”
Despite hopes for a vaccine, it is uncertain when to go through the third phase studies and then be used.
Kate Bingham, head of the UK’s Vaccine Taskfroce, admitted earlier this month that there is little chance that any drug will be available before the end of the year.
The vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca is currently entering phase 3 studies.
This means that the vaccine will now be given to volunteers to verify its safety.
It is also being tested in Brazil, where reports surfaced today that a volunteer had died.
However, the University of Oxford said they see no concerns about study safety.
Ms. Bingham said: “I think there is little chance, but there is a chance that we will get the Oxford vaccine before Christmas.
“So if everything works, it’s possible that we will have a vaccine this year, but it is very likely that it will be next year.”
“I am optimistic that we will see something: four of our six vaccines are currently in phase three studies and in each of them we have seen very positive data in the first and second phase of the clinical studies which show that the people who received the vaccine creates a strong immune response and if you ingest the neutralizing antibodies that are activated, these antibodies can kill the live Covid virus.
“So it’s very positive and as good as it can be now.
“And now we need to see if these immune responses we see lead to protection.”
The other five UK vaccines are manufactured by: BioNTech and Pfizer; Valneva; Novavax; Johnson & Johnson; and GlaxoSmithKline.
Currently, Ms. Bingham says any vaccine could be similar to the one we use for the flu, with vaccinations given annually depending on the strain.
UK Senior Science Advisor Sir Patrick Vallance also said the virus could never be eradicated.
He told MPs it was doubtful that a vaccine would be available before spring.
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