Britain first to approve AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine

[snoop1130]

Britain first to approve AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine

By Alistair Smout and Paul Sandle

 

FILE PHOTO: Vials with a sticker reading, "COVID-19 / Coronavirus vaccine / Injection only" and a medical syringe are seen in front of a displayed AstraZeneca logo in this illustration taken October 31, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain on Wednesday became the first country in the world to approve a coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, hoping that rapid action would help it stem a surge of infections driven by a highly contagious variant of the virus.

 

Boris Johnson's government, which has already ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine, said it had accepted a recommendation from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to grant emergency authorisation.

 

The approval is a vindication for a shot seen as essential for mass immunisations in the developing world as well as in Britain, but does not eliminate questions about trial data that make it unlikely to be approved so rapidly in the European Union or the United States.

 

"The NHS (National Health Service) will be able to deliver these shots into people's arms at the speed at which it can be manufactured," Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky News.

 

"I am also now, with this approval this morning, highly confident that we can get enough vulnerable people vaccinated by the spring that we can now see our route out of this pandemic."

 

Johnson called the approval a "triumph for British science".

 

Hancock said hundreds of thousands of doses would be available to administer next week in Britain, which is already rolling out a vaccine developed by Pfizer of the United States and BioNTech of Germany.

 

The Oxford vaccine has been found in trials to be less effective than the Pfizer/BioNTech shot but, crucially for countries with more basic health infrastructure, can be stored and transported under normal refrigeration, rather than supercooled to -70 degrees Celsius (-94 Fahrenheit).

 

INDIA INTERESTED

 

India is keen to start administering the new shot next month; Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's biggest producer of vaccines, has already made about 50 million doses. Chile is also interested.Britain has set itself apart from other Western countries with its fast-track approach to vaccinations, having green-lighted the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine weeks before the EU's European Medicines Authority (EMA) did so.

 

A UK government advisory body on Wednesday recommended a change of course by giving as many people as possible a first dose of coronavirus vaccine right away, rather than giving the second, booster shot within the shortest period of time.

 

Uncertainty has swirled over the most effective dosing pattern for the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine since it released data last month showing a 90% success rate for a half-dose followed by a full dose, but only 62% - still usually more than enough for regulators - for two full doses.

 

The more successful outcome emerged, by accident, in a much smaller number of participants, all under 55, and AstraZeneca is carrying out more tests to see if that rate holds up in a bigger set of volunteers.

 

AstraZeneca did not specify which regimen had been approved on Wednesday. The MHRA was due to brief reporters shortly.

 

The EMA says it has not yet received full data on the AstraZeneca vaccine and is unlikely to be able to approve it next month. A decision from the U.S. regulator is also not imminent.

 

MIXED MESSAGES

 

Governments need to secure widespread public acceptance of a new vaccine in order to achieve so-called "herd immunity", but have to contend with anti-vaccine campaigns able to spread their messages rapidly through social media.

 

Antonella Viola, an immunologist at Padua University in Italy, said that the divergence between regulators was a "bad message that disorients citizens".

 

"While there is no doubt about the safety of the vaccine, the efficacy is unclear - and too many errors and announcements have complicated the interpretation of the data," she said.

 

But for some, the seriousness of the pandemic was enough to merit swift action.

 

Britain and South Africa in particular are grappling with more contagious variants of the coronavirus, which has already killed 1.7 million people around the world, sown chaos through the global economy and upended normal life for billions.

 

Many countries have banned passenger flights and blocked trade to try to keep the new mutation out.

 

"To get out of this debacle, there is no alternative to having a significant majority of the population carrying a high level of neutralising antibodies," said Danny Altmann, a professor of immunology at Imperial College London.

 

"I suspect this (authorisation) will speed things by several months. An immune population by the spring starts to look feasible."

 

AstraZeneca Chief Executive Pascal Soriot told BBC radio that Britain should be able to vaccinate tens of millions of people by the end of the first quarter.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-12-30

 

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[Mavideol]

ok, will admit and may have to bite my tongue, Britain's approval of the Pfizer vaccine made me worry and a little skeptical,  but now they approved the AstraZeneca/Oxford one, have to give them credit for being pioneers in vaccine approval, well done Britain and my apologies for doubting of your capacities/capabilities

Edited December 30, 2020 by Mavideol
spelling

[TSF]

This one will be the game changer, cheap and doesn't need special freezing, easy to transport around, can be kept in clinic fridges. Labs around the world will be churning this out in the billions of doses. 

[Megasin1]

Yes, but amongst all the hurrah they forgot one very important thing  covered by the statement "at the speed which it can be produced".....someone forgot to order millions of the little vaccine bottles to put the damned stuff in. You would think these people would invest in decent logistics managers, but I donr suppose you can expect scientists and governments to be practical. ????

Edited December 31, 2020 by Megasin1

[4MyEgo]

14 hours ago, TSF said:

This one will be the game changer, cheap and doesn't need special freezing, easy to transport around, can be kept in clinic fridges. Labs around the world will be churning this out in the billions of doses. 

 

The only thing I don't get is that from what I have read, these vaccines while provide us with protection against the virus, we can still be infected (Asymptomatic) and pass on the virus to others, like now with Asymptomatic people, add to that, we are all still going to have to quarantine for the 14 days at our own expense, so the question is, wouldn't we all be better off not getting it and only injecting those that really need it, the ones highest at risk ?

[Megasin1]

8 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

The only thing I don't get is that from what I have read, these vaccines while provide us with protection against the virus, we can still be infected (Asymptomatic) and pass on the virus to others, like now with Asymptomatic people, add to that, we are all still going to have to quarantine for the 14 days at our own expense, so the question is, wouldn't we all be better off not getting it and only injecting those that really need it, the ones highest at risk ?

They are only vaccinating those at higher risk in the UK, that is the first approx. 20 million vaccinations, then they will aim for a min. of 60% to obtain herd immunity. I think that in the bigger scheme of things they don't worry about whether or not you and a few others will be subjected to a costly quarantine because you choose to travel, you makes your choices, you takes your chances................. ????

[4MyEgo]

1 minute ago, Megasin1 said:

they don't worry about whether or not you and a few others will be subjected to a costly quarantine because you choose to travel, you makes your choices, you takes your chances

Actually they have taken my choices away by enforcing quarantine, how else is one supposed to visit family if they don't travel, it's not a choice, it's reality as are all sorts of other diseases, fact of the matter is they have overstepped their authority IMO.

[Megasin1]

13 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

Actually they have taken my choices away by enforcing quarantine, how else is one supposed to visit family if they don't travel, it's not a choice, it's reality as are all sorts of other diseases, fact of the matter is they have overstepped their authority IMO.

but look on the bright side, if you do have the vaccine before you travel at least you will be protected whilst you are in Thai custody, which according to their figures is the most dangerous place to be. ????

[4MyEgo]

7 minutes ago, Megasin1 said:

but look on the bright side, if you do have the vaccine before you travel at least you will be protected

 

Not afraid of the vaccine or the virus for that matter, that said, I don't see why I should be quarantined if I have the vaccine, in other words, what's the purpose to have the vaccine if I have to spend tens of thousands of $'s to return to my homeland to visit family and then the same in Thailand upon my return.

 

Should be vaccine, free pass to travel, those who choose not to be vaccinated shouldn't be at my expense for me to quarantine for them, simple really, i.e. I comply, therefore I should get a free pass, those that choose not to comply get what they get at their own expense, common sense really. 

[placeholder]

1 minute ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

Not afraid of the vaccine or the virus for that matter, that said, I don't see why I should be quarantined if I have the vaccine, in other words, what's the purpose to have the vaccine if I have to spend tens of thousands of $'s to return to my homeland to visit family and then the same in Thailand upon my return.

 

Should be vaccine, free pass to travel, those who choose not to be vaccinated shouldn't be at my expense for me to quarantine for them, simple really, i.e. I comply, therefore I should get a free pass, those that choose not to comply get what they get at their own expense, common sense really. 

The biggest problem is that most people haven't had the opportunity yet to comply, have they?

[4MyEgo]

1 minute ago, placeholder said:

The biggest problem is that most people haven't had the opportunity yet to comply, have they?

We are talking in time with everything and everyone having had the opportunity, say 12 months from now, after that, it should be fair game.

 

The show must go on as the saying goes.

Edited December 31, 2020 by 4MyEgo

[TSF]

12 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

The only thing I don't get is that from what I have read, these vaccines while provide us with protection against the virus, we can still be infected (Asymptomatic) and pass on the virus to others, like now with Asymptomatic people, add to that, we are all still going to have to quarantine for the 14 days at our own expense, so the question is, wouldn't we all be better off not getting it and only injecting those that really need it, the ones highest at risk ?

No, vaccinate everybody and break the chain of transmission. Do this and the virus dies.

[Scott]

Troll post and reply removed.

 

[Nout]

5 hours ago, Megasin1 said:

They are only vaccinating those at higher risk in the UK, that is the first approx. 20 million vaccinations, then they will aim for a min. of 60% to obtain herd immunity. I think that in the bigger scheme of things they don't worry about whether or not you and a few others will be subjected to a costly quarantine because you choose to travel, you makes your choices, you takes your chances................. ????

My 83 year old aunt in the UK got her first stage vaccination last week

[shdmn]

14 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

The only thing I don't get is that from what I have read, these vaccines while provide us with protection against the virus, we can still be infected (Asymptomatic) and pass on the virus to others, like now with Asymptomatic people, add to that, we are all still going to have to quarantine for the 14 days at our own expense, so the question is, wouldn't we all be better off not getting it and only injecting those that really need it, the ones highest at risk ?

That is exactly what they are doing.  Starting from oldest and then gradually reducing the age limit. Well most countries anyways.  Looks like lots of queue jumpers in the US though.  The infuriating thing is a lot of those queue jumpers are politicians that were calling the pandemic a hoax. 

Edited December 31, 2020 by shdmn

[4MyEgo]

15 hours ago, TSF said:

No, vaccinate everybody and break the chain of transmission. Do this and the virus dies.

 

Now what about those who don't wish to get the vaccine, i.e. not all believe in vaccinations and I don't feel it would be right to take someone's liberty away from them, although some governments around the world are punishing them for not vaccinating their kids for school by taking away welfare payments for certain things.

 

Viruses will continue to survive, as we will, with or without vaccinations.

[4MyEgo]

13 hours ago, shdmn said:

those queue jumpers are politicians

 

Should be a law against that, first to get vaccinated, and never go to the front line when there is a war, cowards, the lot of them, no wonder I can't stand them, they are below the status of used car salesmen and real estate agents, although I do know some of them and they are ok guys.

[stevenl]

3 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

Now what about those who don't wish to get the vaccine, i.e. not all believe in vaccinations and I don't feel it would be right to take someone's liberty away from them, although some governments around the world are punishing them for not vaccinating their kids for school by taking away welfare payments for certain things.

 

Viruses will continue to survive, as we will, with or without vaccinations.

If people don't believe in vaccinations they have to bear the consequences of that. But don't ask others to bear those consequences for them. So yes, not allowing not vaccinated kids at kindergarten is imo justified.

[shdmn]

On 12/31/2020 at 9:17 PM, 4MyEgo said:

 

Now what about those who don't wish to get the vaccine, i.e. not all believe in vaccinations and I don't feel it would be right to take someone's liberty away from them, although some governments around the world are punishing them for not vaccinating their kids for school by taking away welfare payments for certain things.

 

Viruses will continue to survive, as we will, with or without vaccinations.

A vaccination prevents you from getting sick but it most likely does not prevent you from getting the virus and spreading it.  So people who do not get vaccinated are only endangering themselves.  There will be enough people who get the vaccine for herd immunity to kick in so that should not be a problem.

Edited January 2, 2021 by shdmn

[from the home of CC]

with some countries becoming absolute  unchecked breeding grounds for disease I see (due to persistent mutation) new vaccines being needed to be rolled out yearly - and if that indeed does happen the world will never get a good handle on this..