Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine approved by UK regulator

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: The Guardian

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) has approved the vaccine for use in the UK. Because it needs only normal refrigeration at 2-8C and is easily transported, the rollout to GP practices and care homes will be swift.

The first batches of vaccine are already in the UK and more will be made in UK factories, ensuring a good supply. The UK has ordered 100m doses, of which 4m are expected to be available within the next few days.
...
The government’s joint committee on vaccination and immunisation (JCVI) has advised that priority should be to give as many people in at-risk groups their first dose of either the Oxford or Pfizer vaccine, rather than providing the required two doses in as short a time as possible.

“Everyone will still receive their second dose and this will be within 12 weeks of their first. The second dose completes the course and is important for longer term protection,” said a DHSC spokesperson.



Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/dec/30/oxford-astrazeneca-covid-vaccine-approved-by-uk-regulator

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Spreading the time between doses up to 12 weeks allows more people to get the vaccine in the 1st 3 months. After that, faster production and distribution will be needed to keep up with the schedule.

[abqtommy]

1. I guess I missed the final trial results. What I have seen looked kinda dodgy to me...

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. They were published in early December

he Covid-19 vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca appears to have moderate efficacy in preventing symptomatic illness, and may significantly reduce hospitalization from the disease, data from four clinical trials of the vaccine reveal.

The highly anticipated publication of the data, released Tuesday in The Lancet, also point to some signals that deserve further exploration — the possibility of protection after a single dose and the suggestion that at least one dosing regimen may have led to a decrease the number of asymptomatic infections.

“This warrants — it’s screaming for — more work in this area,” vaccine researcher Saad Omer, director of Yale University’s Institute of Global Health, said of the hint the vaccine may reduce asymptomatic infections. “You can’t ignore the results but you have to be judicious about moving forward.”

https://www.statnews.com/2020/12/08/detailed-data-on-astrazeneca-oxford-covid-19-vaccine-show-it-has-moderate-efficacy/

Eric Feigl-Ding, who has a good reputation, thinks it's a good program:

Link to tweet

9 Dec: "Why do I respect Oxford/AstraZeneca group’s vaccine research the most? Because they care about *publishing* their full results first before seeking vanity in market approval. RESPECT!

And it works—70-90%. And Oxford even will do another trial."

27 Dec: "Recall the original Phase 3 trial last month was still quite good. 70% overall (averaging across all doses), or 90% in the half-full dose. Oxford was the FIRST to publish formally in a journal! Moderna & Pfizer didn’t publish until later even though they were approved first."

[abqtommy]

3. Thank you for this.

[Native]

4. Article states people will be given the full dose rather than a half dose in their 1st shot. Ugh.