Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine achieves “protection …

A scientific study has shown that Corona virus vaccine developped by University of Oxford and the AstraZeneca laboratory obtain a “76 percent sustained protection “for three months after your first dose. The average exceeds 80 percent with the second dose.

The British think tank reported that the study was published in “Preprints with The Lancet”. article is still awaiting peer review. According to the university, a series of studies reported that application of the first dose of the vaccine developed in collaboration with AstraZeneca shows “76 percent efficacy from day 22 to 90 after vaccination”. “After the second dose, the effectiveness of the vaccine is 82.4 percent if the interval is 90 days “he added.

In this sense, the University of Oxford pointed out that “the effect of dosing interval on efficacy is pronounced, with an increase in vaccine efficacy from 54.9 percent with an interval of less than six weeks to 82.4 percent when 12 weeks or more are separated. “

“The exploratory analyzes presented in this pre-print suggest that it is the dosing interval and not the dosage level that has a big impact on the effectiveness of the vaccine. This is in line with previous research supporting greater efficacy with longer booster intervals performed with other vaccines such as influenza, Ebola and malaria, ”said Andrew Pollard, principal investigator of the vaccine trial. Oxford and co-author of the article.

Pollard added that “these new data provide an important verification of the interim data that was used by more than 25 regulators, including the MHRA and EMA, to grant clearance for emergency use of the vaccine.”

“He also supports the policy recommendation made by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) for a 12 week booster interval, as they seek the optimal approach to implement, and assures us that people are protected for 22 days after a single dose. vaccine, ”said the researcher.

“Very good news”

For his part, the British Minister for Health, Matt Hancock, called the results of the study “absolutely magnificent” because, in addition, support the government’s decision to apply doses 12 weeks apart in order to vaccinate more of the population in less time.

“The Oxford University report is very good news, supports the strategy we have adopted and shows the world that the Oxford vaccine is working effectively,” the minister told UK Sky News.

The United Kingdom, which has already vaccinated 9.6 of its 66 million inhabitantss, currently uses the AstraZeneca / Oxford and Pfizer / BioNTech vaccines, which will be joined in the spring by Moderna. So far, the country records more than 108,000 deaths from the coronavirus.

Hancock also spoke about recent mutations in the virus and said the UK regulator may speed up changes to existing vaccines to tailor preparations to newer variants of the coronavirus.

“We are working with companies on their development and to make sure that they are regulated and deployed faster than the first time around, as this is a simple vaccine tweak rather than a completely new vaccine,” said he explained.

Boris Johnson’s government has pledged to carry out a mass vaccination campaign as soon as possible to reduce the transmission of covid-19 and thus be able to lift the third confinement in which the United Kingdom finds itself.