28 November 2020 | New Scientist | 7A COVID-19 vaccine that doesn’t
need to be kept at very low
temperatures has been found
to be 70 per cent effective on
average, with potential for that
to rise to 90 per cent depending
on how the doses are given.
In large-scale trials of more
than 20,000 people in the UK and
Brazil, 131 people became infected
by the disease, according to
preliminary results published this
week by the vaccine’s developers,
AstraZeneca and the University
of Oxford. “We have a vaccine
for the world. We’ve got a
vaccine that’s highly effective:
it prevents severe disease and
hospitalisation,” Andrew Pollard
at the University of Oxford told
an online press conference.
The vaccine’s 70 per cent
effectiveness is much lower than
the 90-plus per cent reported inrecent weeks for Pfizer and
BioNTech’s and Moderna’s
vaccines. However, in a subgroup
of more than 3000 people given
a half dose followed by a full dose
a month later, the figure jumped to
90 per cent.
Sarah Gilbert, also at the
University of Oxford, said at the
press event that more research
was needed to work out why
the half dose seems to prime
the body to respond better to
the coronavirus. “It could be that
by giving a small amount of the
vaccine to start with and following
up with a big amount, that’s a
better way of kicking the biggest
and most effective immune
system response,” she said.The trial results show that the
vaccine prevents mild and severe
disease. There is some evidence
that it curbs transmission too, said
Pollard and Gilbert, although a full
analysis is still being carried out
on this. The results are “hugely
encouraging”, research charity
Wellcome said in a statement.
Crucially, the vaccine can be
stored in a fridge rather than in
a freezer as required for Pfizer and
BioNTech’s vaccine, simplifying
supply chain logistics. A half-
dosing regimen also offers the
prospect of far more initial doses
being made available.
Pam Cheng at AstraZeneca
said at the press conference that
the firm would have more thanPromising early results are in for the covid-19 vaccine developed by
AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, reports Adam VaughanMore vaccine hope
News
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Online every weekday at 6pm GMT
newscientist.com/coronavirus-latest300 million full doses available
globally by the end of March 2021,
a number that could double for
the first doses, given the promise
shown by a half dose. She added
that the company can produce
around 200 million doses a
month. The UK has ordered
100 million doses of the vaccine.
Even combining AstraZeneca’s
vaccine production capacity withPfizer and BioNTech’s and
Moderna’s, there aren’t enough
doses for the world, so capacity
must be increased, Pascal Soriot,
AstraZeneca’s chief executive,
told the press event.
Research is still under way on
how long immunity provided by
the AstraZeneca and University
of Oxford vaccine lasts. However,
Gilbert said she was optimistic
it would have “good durability”,
pointing out that related vaccines
developed for the coronavirus
that causes MERS conferred
about a year’s protection.
Asked about the side effects
of taking the covid-19 vaccine,
she said that during earlier,
smaller phases of its development,
people reported sore arms, fever
and headache. “It’s quite short-
lived,” she said. “It’s nothing
unusual after vaccination.”
On Tuesday, the Russian
government announced new
trial results, saying its Sputnik V
vaccine has been found to be more
than 95 per cent effective after a
second dose, up from the 92 per
cent it reported earlier this month.
The country’s sovereign wealth
fund said each dose would cost
less than $10, noting that this is
cheaper than “foreign vaccines”
based on messenger RNA. These
include Pfizer and BioNTech’s and
Moderna’s. The AstraZeneca and
University of Oxford vaccine is
due to cost about $3 to $4 a dose. ❚The vaccine developed by
the University of Oxford
and AstraZeneca“We’ve got a vaccine
that’s highly effective:
it prevents severe disease
and hospitalisation”Coronavirus