India approves AstraZeneca vaccine as company still working on vaccine effectiveness of at least 62% after disappointing trial results – RT World News

Indian Information Minister Prakash Javadekar announced on Saturday that the coronavirus vaccine, developed by Swedish-British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca in collaboration with Oxford University, had been approved by regulators a day earlier for emergency use. Formal approval by the General Drug Controller of India is expected in the coming days.

The news came when India surpassed its tenth millionth Covid-19 case and approached 150,000 deaths.

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The vaccine, which will be produced locally by the Serum Institute of India, was approved for use in the UK on Tuesday. However, its launch was hampered by confusing data on the effectiveness of the coronavirus vaccine, depending on the dosage used, contained in a peer-reviewed study published in the medical journal The Lancet last month.

Most of the candidates in the AstraZeneca trial received two full doses of the vaccine, and for these, the jab was found to be 62 percent effective – significantly less than rival vaccines showed. However, a smaller subgroup erroneously received half a dose, followed by a full dose – and among these patients, a 90% efficacy rate was reported. Combined, the vaccine’s effectiveness was assessed at 70.4 percent. Just over 2,700 participants received the lowest dose and no one in this test group was over 55 years old.

Notably, the Serum Institute applied for a two-dose schedule, which the tests showed to be 62% effective. The Central Drug Control Organization (CDSCO) in India is expected to announce the details in the coming days.

US regulators have rejected the disparity in results, and AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot has promised a new global test. Last week, he told the Sunday Times that his company discovered a “Winning formula” that after two doses, “It’s there with everyone”.

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However, Soriot did not reveal any further details about this formula, saying only that AstraZeneca would publish it. “at some point.”

Unlike the Pfizer mRNA vaccine, the first of its kind to be authorized, the injection of AstraZeneca is based on a genetically modified cold virus – a version of a chimpanzee adenovirus – making it cheaper to produce and easier to store under normal refrigeration. This makes distribution easier in less developed countries.

Indian regulators are evaluating three additional candidate vaccines, including the Russian Sputnik V. Like AstraZeneca’s offer, Sputnik V is relatively inexpensive and uses tried and tested technology. Unlike the AstraZeneca injection, clinical trials found that Sputnik V is 91.4 percent effective against Covid-19 and is based on a platform based on a well-studied human adenoviral vector. Prior to approval, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and the Indian generic pharmaceutical company Hetero agreed in November to produce more than 100 million doses of Sputnik V a year on Indian soil.

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Russian manufacturers of Sputnik V also announced last month that they would partner with AstraZeneca to research the possibility of using both vaccines in a single immunization regimen. Its manufacturers say they are currently working on tests to increase the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca vaccine to more than 90 percent.

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