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British scientists at AstraZeneca made a major mistake when testing its coronavirus vaccine – one that led to its most significant breakthrough, the team’s lead researcher said.
The team working with the University of Oxford were supposed to give the volunteers two full doses of the vaccine, which were found to be around 62% effective in the group given the correct servings.
But a group of British volunteers initially received only a half dose by mistake – a ration that has been tested to be up to 90% effective when combined with a full dose at least a month later.
“That’s basically how we came across the successful combination,” Mene Pangalos, head of non-oncology research and development at AstraZeneca, told Reuters.
“Yes, it was a mistake.
The dosing incident was only realized after this group of volunteers experienced much milder side effects than expected headaches and fatigue, Pangalos said.
“So we went back and checked… and found that they had underestimated the vaccine dose by half,” he told the press service.
“The reason we got the half dose is coincidence,” Pangalos said of this major breakthrough.
AstraZeneca is now the third drugmaker to report encouraging vaccine results, joining Pfizer and Moderna whose injections have both been shown to be up to 95% effective in trials.
The last vaccine option, however, is easier to distribute, as it only needs to be refrigerated rather than frozen like the other two.
It’s also cheaper, with AstraZeneca pledging not to make a profit on the vaccine during the pandemic, making deals with governments and international health organizations that put its cost at around $ 2.50 per dose.
Pfizer’s vaccine costs around $ 20, while Moderna’s is $ 15 to $ 25, based on deals the companies have made to supply their vaccines to the U.S. government.
With pole wires
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