LONDON – The COVID-19 vaccine developed by British pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford has achieved a “winning formula” in effectiveness, said the company’s chief executive on Sunday.
The vaccine, currently being evaluated by Britain’s independent drug regulator, provides “100 percent protection” against severe COVID disease that requires hospitalization, Pascal Soriot said in an interview with the Sunday Times.
He added that he believes the tests will show that his company achieved a vaccine effectiveness equal to Pfizer-BioNTech by 95 percent and Moderna by 94.5 percent.
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“We think we have found the winning formula and how to achieve effectiveness that, after two doses, is up to everyone else,” said the chief executive, saying that only the data would be published “at some point”.
FILE – Pascal Soriot, Executive Director and CEO of AstraZeneca, prepares to testify on February 26, 2019 at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo / Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
The UK government announced on December 23 that the developers of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine have sent their data to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Approval is expected to be granted on Monday for the photo’s release, reported The Sunday Telegraph.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was the first coronavirus vaccine to be authorized for use by the UK’s independent drug regulator and has been administered to 600,000 of the country’s most vulnerable people since last month.
Previous studies have shown varying results in the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca injection. The vaccine initially showed an average effectiveness of 70 percent, but that level jumped to 90 percent depending on the dosage.
‘Storm’ over the data
Behind this average number of large-scale tests in the UK and Brazil was 62% efficacy for those who were vaccinated with two full doses of the vaccine.
For volunteers who received half a dose first and then a full dose a month later, the vaccine was 90% effective.
A researcher in a Jenner Institute laboratory in Oxford, England, works on the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, November 23, 2020. (University of Oxford / John Cairns via AP, Archive)
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 did not expect the setback that followed.
“We assumed that people would be a little disappointed, for sure,” he said. “But we didn’t expect that storm.”
High hopes were placed on the AstraZeneca injection, originally based on a weakened version of a chimpanzee virus, due to its low cost.
Dry ice is poured into a box containing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine as it is prepared to be shipped at the Pfizer Global Supply Kalamazoo plant in Portage, Michigan, December 13, 2020. (AP Photo / Morry Gash, Pool )
The AstraZeneca vaccine also has a logistical advantage over the Pfizer-BioNTech alternative, as it can be stored, transported and handled under normal refrigeration conditions between two and eight degrees Celsius (36-46 Fahrenheit) for at least six months.
This is a far cry from the -70C required for the Pfizer / BioNTech offering and could allow the use of the existing refrigerated supply chain to cut costs.
‘Light at the end of the tunnel’
In a vote of confidence for her home vaccine, most of Britain’s requirements are expected to be met with the injection.
The government has ordered 100 million doses, with 40 million doses scheduled to be available by the end of March.
British authorities hope that confidence will be rewarded, not least because the country was one of the most affected by the pandemic, with more than 70,000 deaths.
Pedestrians wear masks while walking on Oxford Street in London, December 26, 2020 (AP Photo / Kirsty Wigglesworth)
An increase in cases hit the whole country last week, falling especially in southeastern England and attributed to a new strain of the virus considered more infectious, which was first identified in the United Kingdom.
According to a British study, the strain is 50% to 74% more contagious.
In an effort to stem the spread of the disease, millions across Britain have been placed under more severe blocking restrictions that took effect on December 26.
Dozens of countries have also imposed travel restrictions on the United Kingdom to prevent the spread of the new strain.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday newspaper, Finance Minister Rishi Sunak acknowledged that it was “a difficult year for everyone in this country”.
However, he added that “the early launch of vaccines – and the incredible work of our scientists and the NHS – means that we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Nearly 200 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be made before the end of the year, said the UK’s drug manufacturer, and more than 700 million globally by the end of March next year.