Category Archives: AstraZeneca

Australia’s chief medical officer defends AstraZeneca’s Covid vaccine amid efficacy concerns

Posted on by

Australia has secured 54m doses of the vaccine some experts say is inferior to Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine, which Australia has bought just 10m doses of

  • Covid hotspots Victoria; NSW hotspots; Queensland hotspots
  • NSW and Sydney trend map: where cases are rising or falling
  • Follow the Australia coronavirus live blog

    • Australia’s chief medical officer, Prof Paul Kelly, and infectious diseases experts have defended securing 54m doses of a Covid-19 vaccine made by Oxford University and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, amid concerns the vaccine will not be effective enough to achieve herd immunity.

    The president of the Australian and New Zealand Society for Immunology, Prof Stephen Turner, told Nine media that Australia should halt the AstraZeneca vaccine rollout because it has “lower efficacy”.

    Continue reading...

    First patient receives Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine – video

    Posted on by

    An 82-year-old retired maintenance manager has become the first person in the world outside clinical trials to receive the vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca.

    Brian Pinker, a dialysis patient, received the jab at 7.30am on Monday from Sam Foster, a nurse at Churchill hospital, part of the Oxford University hospitals NHS foundation trust.

    Continue reading...

    Analysis: is it wise for England to mix and match Covid vaccines?

    Posted on by

    US experts warn against plan to give different second jab if supplies run low

    The UK is setting the pace around the world in the approval and use of Covid vaccines but, while other countries watch intently, not all are yet prepared to embrace what looks like public health pragmatism rather than strict adherence to evidence.

    Britain is the first country in the world to approve and use the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, just as it was first with Pfizer/BioNTech’s. In a further trailblazing decision, it is giving everyone a first shot of either of those vaccines, with the second shot delayed to 12 weeks afterwards instead of the three- or four-week interval in the trials.

    Continue reading...

    How is the Oxford Covid vaccine being deployed in England?

    Posted on by

    With jab to be administered to public for first time, we look at key questions about its rollout

    The biggest vaccination programme in the UK’s history will receive a major boost on Monday, with the first use of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine. Here we look at some key questions about how it will be deployed in England.

    Continue reading...

    What difference will Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine make in UK?

    Posted on by

    We look at how the introduction of a new vaccine in the fight against Covid will work

    The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is central to the government’s plans for ending social distancing in the UK and returning to some sort of normality. It has invested in seven different vaccines, but the biggest order is for 100m doses of the AstraZeneca jab, most of which will be manufactured in the UK. While the prime minister was jubilant that the UK was first in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, he is now able to claim a British triumph. More to the point is the ease of use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Unlike Pfizer’s, it does not have to be kept in the long term at -70C. Pfizer’s vaccine can be stored in a fridge for five days, but AstraZeneca’s can be kept for months at fridge temperature, which is 2-8C and will be easy to take to care homes to administer to residents, the first priority group for vaccination.

    Continue reading...

    Questions hang over UK’s rollout of Oxford/AstraZeneca jab

    Posted on by

    Analysis: regulator surprises by approving 12-week gap between first and second shots of vaccine as well as Pfizer/BioNTech shot

    It’s a pragmatic solution to an incredibly urgent problem – how to immunise very large numbers of people at risk from a rampaging variant of Covid-19 in the shortest possible time. The answer that government advisers have come up with is to give them all – more than 20 million of them – a single shot of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine so that they have some protection and postpone the second dose to three months afterwards, when hopefully there will be plenty of vaccine available for boosters.

    Related: How well does the Oxford vaccine work? What we know so far

    Continue reading...

    UK scientists trial drug to prevent infection that leads to Covid

    Posted on by

    Exclusive: Antibody therapy could confer instant immunity to Covid-19 on at-risk groups

    British scientists are trialling a new drug that could prevent someone who has been exposed to coronavirus from going on to develop the disease Covid-19, which experts say could save many lives.

    The antibody therapy would confer instant immunity against the disease and could be given as an emergency treatment to hospital inpatients and care home residents to help contain outbreaks.

    Continue reading...

    Oxford Covid vaccine to be combined with Sputnik jab for trial

    Posted on by

    UK and Russian scientists to explore whether vaccines given together improves efficacy

    UK and Russian scientists are to test whether combining shots of the Oxford/AstraZeneca and Sputnik V coronavirus vaccines could result in better protection than two doses of the same one.

    Trials will start by the end of the year, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which funded the development of the Sputnik V vaccine by Russia’s Gamaleya Institute, said on Friday. AstraZeneca confirmed that it was considering how it could assess combinations of different vaccines, and would soon begin exploring with the Gamaleya Institute whether their two vaccines could be successfully combined.

    Continue reading...

    Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine has 70% efficacy, full trial data shows

    Posted on by

    Newly published data shows 90% efficacy only in small group who got half-dose first

    The Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine has efficacy of 90% in a small group who got a half-dose first, but only 62% in the majority, full trial data newly published in the Lancet has confirmed.

    The results may create a quandary for regulatory bodies, which will have to decide on how the vaccine should be used if they approve it.

    Continue reading...

    UK trial to mix and match Covid vaccines to try to improve potency

    Posted on by

    Pilot planned for January will give subjects a shot of both Oxford/AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech versions

    A trial is likely to go ahead in January to find out whether mixing and matching Covid vaccines gives better protection than two doses of the same one, the head of the British government’s taskforce has said.

    The Pfizer/BioNTech Covid jab is an mRNA vaccine. Essentially, mRNA is a molecule used by living cells to turn the gene sequences in DNA into the proteins that are the building blocks of all their fundamental structures. A segment of DNA gets copied (“transcribed”) into a piece of mRNA, which in turn gets “read” by the cell’s tools for synthesising proteins.

    Continue reading...

    The vaccine miracle: how scientists waged the battle against Covid-19

    Posted on by

    We trace the extraordinary research effort, from the discovery of the virus’s structure to the start of inoculations this week

    In the early afternoon of 3 January this year, a small metal box was delivered to the Shanghai Public Health Clinical Centre addressed to virus expert Prof Zhang Yongzhen. Inside, packed in dry ice, were swabs from a patient who was suffering from a novel, occasionally fatal respiratory illness that was sweeping the city of Wuhan. Exactly what was causing terrifying rises in case numbers, medical authorities wanted to know? And how was the disease being spread?

    Related: ‘I worked so hard in the lab. I cried when the news came’

    Continue reading...

    Different age groups may get different Covid vaccines, experts say

    Posted on by

    Oxford/AstraZeneca planning new trial of lower-dose jab to see how well it works in older people

    Concerns around the efficacy of the Oxford University/AstraZeneca coronavirus jab in older people could lead to different age groups being given different vaccines, experts have said.

    The partners announced last week that the vaccine had a 70% efficacy overall. For most trial participants – given two full doses, spaced a month apart – the efficacy was 62%, but for 3,000 participants mistakenly given half a dose for their first jab, the efficacy was 90%. No participants, regardless of dosing, developed severe Covid or were hospitalised with the disease.

    Continue reading...

    A vaccine revolution | podcast

    Posted on by

    Results from clinical trials have shown that the world has three apparently highly effective vaccines for Covid-19. With the race now on for regulatory approval, production and distribution, is the end of the pandemic within reach?

    After a gruelling year of successive waves of Covid-19 infections and national lockdowns there has been a burst of good news this month, with three separate vaccine candidates performing extremely well in clinical trials.

    First, Pfizer and Moderna announced that their vaccines were testing at an efficacy of around 95%. Then came the news that the AstraZeneca vaccine (the one pre-ordered in bulk by the UK government) was hitting 90%. It marks not just a new phase in the Covid-19 pandemic but potentially a revolution in vaccine technology itself.

    Continue reading...

    Vaccine results bring us a step closer to ending Covid, says Oxford scientist

    Posted on by

    Latest breakthrough comes as PM says he hopes most at-risk could be immunised by Easter

    The world is moving a step closer to ending the coronavirus pandemic, the scientist behind Britain’s first vaccine has declared, as Boris Johnson said he hoped the majority of those most at-risk could be immunised by Easter.

    Successful trial results for the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine, suggesting it could protect up to 90% of people, are the third set of promising findings in as many weeks. Before this year, there had never been a vaccine for a coronavirus.

    Continue reading...

    Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine to be sold to developing countries at cost price

    Posted on by

    Jab that is part of global initiative to distribute doses will remain at low price ‘in perpetuity’

    The coronavirus vaccine produced by Oxford University and AstraZeneca will be available on a non-profit basis “in perpetuity” to low- and middle-income countries in the developing world.

    The details of arrangements to supply poorer countries came as AstraZeneca revealed the interim results of a phase 3 trial of the vaccine, which is being heralded as the first to meet the more challenging requirements of the developing world.

    Continue reading...

    The Covid vaccine results are great news, but it’s not all over yet

    Posted on by

    Oxford/AstraZeneca findings have certain advantages over those from other versions

    Within weeks, the prospects of an end to the pandemic have changed utterly, with three vaccines against Covid-19 reporting good results in final clinical trials and at least one likely to be used before Christmas. But there are still huge challenges ahead.

    The results from the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine, which is absolutely central to the UK’s vaccination strategy, may at first glance look not as good as those of Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna – the two mRNA vaccines that have both reported 95% efficacy.

    Continue reading...

    Moderna vaccine’s effectiveness bodes well for Oxford/AstraZeneca jab

    Posted on by

    Phase 3 success rate of 95% for US firm’s treatment is promising for UK vaccine trial

    Hopes are rising for the Covid jab being developed by Oxford University, after Moderna became the second company to reveal impressive results from its vaccine trials.

    Interim results from phase 3 clinical trials of the Covid vaccine from US company Moderna has revealed it to be almost 95% effective at preventing the disease. The news followed an announcement last week from Germany-based Pfizer and BioNTech that their vaccine was more than 90% effective.

    Continue reading...

    Are we near to having a vaccine for Covid-19?

    Posted on by

    Even a once bullish PM is now not so optimistic but there are promising signs of a vaccine on the horizon

    In March, Boris Johnson said we would turn the tide in 12 weeks and “send the coronavirus packing” and by May ministers were boasting of having a vaccine by September. Last week the prime minister sounded far less confident, telling MPs that there was still no vaccine for SARS, 18 years after it emerged. A vaccine may not be far away though.

    Continue reading...

    Oxford University Covid-19 vaccine firm says it is not in talks with Trump

    Posted on by

    AstraZeneca insists it has not discussed ‘emergency use authorisation’ with the US

    The company manufacturing the Oxford University coronavirus vaccine has said it is not in talks with the Trump administration about fast-tracking its vaccine for emergency use ahead of November’s presidential elections.

    With both Russia and China pressing ahead with inoculations involving experimental vaccines yet to pass final efficacy and safety trials, the Trump administration has become increasingly frustrated with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which the president has tried to suggest is slowing approval of a vaccine for “political reasons”.

    Continue reading...

    Breakthrough close on coronavirus antibody therapy: reports

    Posted on by

    Scientists say injection of cloned antibodies could help treat people already infected, while vaccine development continues

    Scientists working on coronavirus treatments may be close to a breakthrough on an antibody treatment that could save the lives of people who become infected, it has been reported.

    An injection of cloned antibodies that counteract Covid-19 could prove significant for those in the early stages of infection, according to the British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.

    Continue reading...