Neil Hall / Reuters
- The COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca could be 95% effective in preventing the virus, CEO Pascal Soriot told the Sunday Times at the weekend.
- Soriot also said he thinks the vaccine could protect against a new type of COVID-19 that is more contagious than the original and spread across the UK.
- AstraZeneca last week submitted the vaccine data to UK health regulators and emergency authorization may be imminent, and the rollout to UK citizens will be expected early next week.
- AstraZeneca’s shares jumped 4% in Monday transactions.
- See here how AstraZeneca trades.
The COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca could receive emergency approvals from UK regulators by Monday or Tuesday this week, with the vaccine being introduced to UK citizens in the first week of 2021, according to The Telegraph.
AstraZeneca presented its COVID-19 vaccine data to UK regulators on December 23, and CEO Pascal Soriot believes the vaccine’s effectiveness in preventing COVID-19 infections is as high as 95% of Pfizer and BioNtech.
“We think we have established the winning formula and how to get effectiveness that is after two doses with everyone else there,” Soriot told the Sunday Times newspaper.
Data for the vaccine will be published at some point, Soriot told the newspaper.
AstraZeneca’s shares traded up 4% to $ 50.28 on Monday.
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Soriot added that he believes AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine protects against a new virus strain that is thought to be more contagious than the original strain that is spreading in the UK.
“We think the vaccine should remain effective” against the new strain, Soriot told the Sunday Times, adding that “we can not be sure, so we are going to test it.”
A highly effective COVID-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca can accelerate the roll-out and administration of vaccines to people around the world, as the two-dose vaccine does not require ultra-cold storage like the mRNA vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer / BioNtech not.
The AstraZeneca vaccine requires refrigeration from 36 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit and can be stored for at least six months.
The US has signed a contract with AstraZeneca for 300 million doses of their vaccine, which exceeds its 200 million order for Moderna and Pfizer / BioNtech’s vaccine.
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