The AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine could allow more people to be vaccinated

Paris: Promising results on the efficacy of a third Covid-19 vaccine developed by British company AstraZeneca with the University of Oxford were published on Monday. Olivier Nataf, president of the company in France, explains in an interview with AFP, the data related to this vaccine are important for public health.

Q: Your vaccine is 70% effective and this is less than the vaccine of other competing companies Can you explain this data?

A: 70% is the result of a joint analysis. Efficacy data were demonstrated according to two dosing protocols. In one, half a dose was given, then a full dose one month later and the effectiveness was 90%. Thus, in a two full dose protocol with a one month difference, the efficacy was 62%.

This is interesting: we can decide to follow a protocol to give a half dose and then a second full dose, and this increases the chances of giving the vaccine to people, as lower doses are needed to vaccinate more people.

The second point to remember is that it provides 100% protection against acute disease symptoms and hospitalization for vaccinated participants.

And the last point is the confirmation of safety: no serious side effects were reported, so the vaccine was well tolerated in both dosing regimens.

Finally, everything related to storage, transport and handling is simpler and under normal cooling conditions from 2 to 8 degrees. It is an important component of overall health.

Q: Where did you get into your program?

A: We will be producing 3 billion doses worldwide starting in 2021. We have established parallel and independent supply chains very soon, in the United States, many European countries and the rest of the world.

Production has started, and this was the goal of the first agreements we announced with various governments and NGOs. It started in order to be able to provide the vaccine as soon as the final results of the clinical trials were released, particularly the assessments of the health authorities.

Production is increasing, 50 million doses of active ingredients are already available, and production capacity is increasing approximately every week.

Q: AstraZeneca has indicated that the vaccine will be distributed at cost, is this a different strategy than some of your competitors?

A: It’s more than just a strategy, it’s a commitment. The price is around 2.50 euros per dose. This is at the heart of our agreement with Oxford so that we can provide this vaccine to the greatest number of people, on the fairest terms. We are committed to these 3 billion doses at cost price for 2021.

We must not forget that this is a race against the virus, not a race against a vaccine between competitors. As an industrialist, I feel that a lot, but there is actually a lot of collaboration in this race against the virus: Pfizer has partnered with Biontech, Sanofi with GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca with the University of Oxford.