How does the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine work? – Telam

The coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and the Astrazeneca laboratory, on which the European regulator determined on Wednesday that thrombotic effects are very rare, so he continued to advise its use uses a “chimpanzee adenovirus” to transport the genetic material of SARS-Cov-2 into the body and induce an immune response.

The vaccine uses a platform called a ‘non-replicating viral vector’, which involves using a weakened version of a virus, so that it does not replicate in the body, but carries the genetic material. of the virus it is on. wanted to vaccinate.

In this case, the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine uses a weakened version of the common cold virus (adenovirus) which causes infections in chimpanzees and contains the genetic material for the coronavirus spcula protein (the one that gives it the corona form).

According to phase III clinical trials, the vaccine is 76% effective against symptomatic Covid-19, 100% effective against serious or critical illnesses and hospitalization, and 85% effective against symptomatic illness in participants aged from 65 and over.“

It is a weakened and harmless adenovirus that “has been genetically modified to make it safe and impossible for it to grow in humans,” its developers explained.

When the vaccine enters cells inside the body, it uses this genetic code to produce the spcula surface protein of the coronavirus and this induces an immune response, preparing the immune system to attack the virus if it later infects the virus. body.

It is a “stable vaccine, easy to manufacture, transport and store at home refrigerator temperature (2 to 8 degrees C), so that it can be easily administered in existing health facilities” , they added.

According to phase III clinical trials, the vaccine is 76% effective against symptomatic Covid-19, 100% effective against serious or critical illnesses and hospitalization, and 85% effective against symptomatic illness in participants aged from 65 years or older.

On December 30, the National Administration of Drugs, Food and Medical Technologies (Anmat) of Argentina authorized the use of this vaccine under the “emergency registration” modality and on February 9, it authorized the version. produced by the serum laboratory. Indian Institute, the Covishield.

In August, mAbxience, part of the Insud group, announced that it would produce between 150 million and 250 million doses of the active ingredient in this vaccine at its plant in the city of Buenos Aires in Garn, and that each would cost around $ 4. .

In November, the Argentine government and AstraZeneca signed an agreement for more than 22 million doses, and the first arrival of this agreement was on February 17, with the arrival of 580,000 Covishield units.

On Sunday March 28, 218,400 doses arrived from the AstraZeneca laboratory, which were delivered to the country via the Covax mechanism of the World Health Organization (WHO), through which the country purchased 9 million doses.