Bayram Cigerli Blog

Bigger İnfo Center and Archive

OXFORD COVID VACCINE RESULTS 'MAY BE A MONTH AWAY' AFTER PFIZER TRIAL SUCCESS

 Evening Standard 10 November 2020 - by Nicholas Cecil and Ross Lydall



The Government has pre-ordered 100 million doses of the potential vaccine being developed by scientists at Oxford university and UK drugs firm AstraZeneca.

Interim findings from phase-3 trials are expected by “early December” if global trials, including in the UK, continue to see volunteers catching covid — enabling scientists to check that the vaccine is able to defeat the virus.

Professor Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, said yesterday’s breakthrough for the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine showed for the first time that it was possible to make a covid vaccine. He added: “Ideally we need several of these to be successful for the best possible results for humanity.”

The Oxford vaccine is being trialled in countries including the US, Brazil and South Africa.  

Professor Pollard told the Standard: “We are still hoping that we will be able to do the same sort of thing as Pfizer, do an interim look, before the end of the year. We are obviously going full speed to do that. But the science has to take its course. The combination of science and also the huge logistical challenge of pulling all the data together that will take some time to do. But we are making very good progress.

“I’m reasonably confident that we should get there before the end of the year, sadly because there is obviously so much disease in the various countries we are working [in].”

He declined to put a timetable for the phase-3 trial results.

The UK has secured early access to about 340 million vaccine doses from six potential candidates, including  40 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which requires two jabs per person 21 days apart — potentially giving immunity 28 days after the first injection.  

The others in the Government’s portfolio are being made by Novavax (currently in phase 2 clinical trials), Janssen (phase 2), GSK/Sanofi Pasteur (phase 1) and Valneva (pre-clinical trials).

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “We have got lots of irons in the fire. The other leading one is the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, which we also will be ready to deploy should the data come through on that in a similar way.”

The Pfizer vaccine is a mRNA vaccine — similar to the one that Imperial College London researchers are trialling — but different from the Oxford adenovirus vaccine, which uses a weakened version of the virus that causes the common cold in chimpanzees.

Unlike the Pfizer vaccine, which must be stored at -70C for up to 48 hours prior to use, the Oxford vaccine does not need such “rigorous” cold storage.

Professor Robin Shattock, who is leading Imperial’s vaccine trials, said the Pfizer results were a breakthrough for vaccines in general and “also demonstrates the speed and utility of RNA vaccines technology”. He said it was “hopefully the beginning of global efforts to control this pandemic”.

Share

Related Posts:

  • COMPUTER LESSONS - SeptemberComputer lessons will be available in Tala from September onwards, if there is sufficient demand.The lessons will be based on the ECDL driving license for KIDS and Adults. The lessons are for all. Beginners or Experienced use… Read More
  • REFUSE COLLECTIONSAs some of you are aware, regrettably the transfer to the new refuse contractors has not run smoothly and many people did not have a collection on Monday.   The refuse collectors returned yesterday and most o… Read More
  • HOME [TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT!] NEEDED URGENTLYPleased to advise that 'Benji' has found a new home.  He is very cute, well behaved, has had his first injections and a bath.   Benji has clearly been very lucky!!    Thank you to everyone who expressed an… Read More
  • Pleased to advise that the owner has been traced and has been reunited with the dog!A dog has been found in Tala today.  If anyone recognises the dog, or is willing to give it a home, could they please phone Julie on 99 … Read More
  • 2015 - TALA AMPHITHEATREBREAKING NEWS - 2015 will see the return of the Bee Gees, but we are also delighted to reveal that in June the Worlds Premiere Tribute to The Hollies have agreed to come to Cyprus - they are called The Music of the Hollies an… Read More

0 Comments:

Yorum Gönder