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The Sars-CoV-2 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford has shown an average efficacy of 70.4%, according to the results of clinical studies.
The interim analysis of phase 2/3 studies in the UK and Brazil found 62% efficacy following two full doses given at least one month apart.
However, the vaccine efficacy was 90% when ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, also known as AZD1222, was given to a subset of participants as a half dose, followed by a full dose at least one month later.
There were no reported hospitalizations or severe cases of the disease in participants who received the vaccine, Oxford partner AstraZeneca said in a news release this morning.
The data also suggested that a half-dose and full-dose regimen could help prevent transmission of the virus, according to an Oxford University press release.
Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at Oxford, said: “Today’s announcement takes us another step towards the time when we can use vaccines to end the devastation caused by SARS-CoV-2.”
The announcement follows promising interim data from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, which recently demonstrated approximately 95% protection against the development of COVID-19 with their messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines.
However, the Oxford vaccine is cheaper to manufacture, and unlike other vaccines that require demanding cold chain storage, it can be stored at standard refrigerator temperatures between 2 ° C and 8 ° C.
“Exciting” news
The professor. Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, said: “These results show that we have an effective vaccine that will save many lives.
Interestingly, one of our dosing regimens can be around 90% effective and if this dosing regimen is used, more people could be vaccinated with a scheduled vaccine supply. “
Asked why giving half a dose followed by a full dose appears to be more effective, Prof Pollard told a briefing hosted by the Science Media Center: “We believe that by giving a smaller first dose we are triggering the immune system so different, we’re setting it up better to respond. “
He added: “What we don’t know right now is whether this difference is in the quality or quantity of the immune response, and that’s something we’re doing to investigate.”
Pascal Soriot, chief executive of AstraZeneca, said using a half first dose and a standard second dose would mean “we can vaccinate more people, faster”.
AstraZeneca is preparing to apply for regulatory approval
The company said it will immediately prepare regulatory submission of data to authorities around the world.
Test results will be sent to a scientific journal for peer review.
The pooled analysis included data from the Phase 2/3 COV002 study in the UK and the Phase 3 COV003 study in Brazil and involved more than 23,000 participants.
Dr Zania Stamataki, a viral immunologist at the University of Birmingham, commented: ‘People will be tempted to compare the efficacy between different vaccines, but we have to remember that these are the first data designed to gain approval. the numbers will change with the launch of vaccines “.
Dr Gillies O’Bryan-Tear, president of policy and communications at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Medicine, said, “The level of efficacy observed with this vaccine is well beyond the threshold set for these vaccines and the required threshold for the herd immunity provided there is sufficient absorption.
“This is undoubtedly good news for the COVID pandemic, and given its much lower price than mRNA viruses, this could be the vaccine that reaches more parts of the global community than mRNA vaccines.”
The British government has ordered 100 million doses of the Oxford vaccine. This is more than 40 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and five million of the Moderna vaccine.
The Prime Minister described AstraZeneca’s announcement today as “incredibly exciting”. In a tweet, Boris Johnson said: “There are still more security checks in sight, but these are fantastic results.”
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