A group of Australian scientists has called on the government to review its Covid-19 vaccination strategy over concerns that the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine was not effective enough to bring about herd immunity.
Several immunologists and the Labor opposition party said on Wednesday that Canberra should seek additional supplies of the BioNTech / Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which according to trials have higher efficacy – some degree of prevention of infection or serious illness – than the Oxford / AstraZeneca stitch.
Some health experts are also calling for a “break” in the implementation of the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine next month. The proposal was rejected by Canberra.
“Until we get more data showing that AstraZeneca is just as good as the others, the scientific and medical risk you take is that you will not get herd immunity,” said Andrew Miller, president of the Australian Medical Association in the West. -Australia, said. “The political risk is that you will get a good vaccine for the rich and a not so good vaccine for the poor”
Dr Miller said that Canberra should stop the planned implementation of the Oxford / AstraZeneca sample and be able to obtain the vaccines with the highest efficiency. As Australia has largely entered the virus – unlike the UK or US – it will have to wait to get the best vaccinations available to boost public confidence, he added.
However, the government has said that the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine will provide essential protection against the virus and that there is no planning for a policy revolution.
“The AstraZeneca vaccine is effective, it is safe and it is a high-grade vaccine,” said Paul Kelly, Australia’s chief medical officer. ‘It will be available as soon as the TGA is available [medicine regulator] gives his tick, which we expect will be in February. ”
Australia’s vaccine strategy took a hit last month when a homemade candidate developed by the University of Queensland and CSL was dropped after several participants in the trial gave false positive results for HIV. However, Canberra had an emergency plan and agreed A $ 3.3 billion ($ 2.6 billion) with pharmaceutical companies for alternative vaccines.
The largest order is at AstraZeneca. The Anglo-Swedish drug manufacturer has agreed to deliver 53 million doses of the vaccine, achieving an average efficacy of 70 percent in trials. It also ordered 10m doses of the BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine, which achieved efficiencies of more than 90 percent and is expected to be approved by the TGA next month as well.
Canberra has also agreed to purchase doses of 51 million Novavax vaccine, although it is not expected to be available until mid-2021.
Some scientists are concerned about Australia’s dependence on Oxford / AstraZeneca, and note the trial data showed that the efficacy of the trial was only 62 per cent when twice the dose was given as two full doses.
“Turning to the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines seems like a good idea in an ideal situation,” said Stephen Turner, president of the Society for Immunology in Australia and New Zealand.
He called a review of Canberra’s vaccine strategy appropriate, but warned that there are practical problems with running the BioNTech / Pfizer vaccine, as it has to be stored at 70C. The Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine, which can be kept at 2C to 8C, could be a useful tool in the short term to control the virus, said Mr. Turner said.
The Australasian Virology Society has said it does not support a “break” in vaccine deployment. On the contrary, all data must be analyzed by the Australian Medicines Regulator for Safety and Efficiency before a final decision is taken to introduce the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine.
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The Labor Party said the government should have more agreements with vaccine manufacturers, noting that it had three contracts, while other developed economies had five or six. But that did not call for a halt to the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccination.
Peter Collingon, professor of microbiology at the Australian National University, described calls to stop the implementation as ‘unrealistic’. He said it was unlikely the government would be able to get enough alternative vaccines this year, and that it was essential to get people at high risk vaccinated before winter.