The head of the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, which has developed a vaccine against coronavirus with the University of Oxford, said they had discovered the ‘winning formula’ to improve efficacy, amid reports that the vaccine was approved next week will be.
AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot claims that his product is just as effective as the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, which was the first in Britain and the Western world to be approved by the government.
Talk to The Sunday Times, Mr Soriot said: “We think we have established the winning formula and how to get the effectiveness that is after all at two doses there.”
Sources told the newspaper that the Regulatory Agency (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency – MHRA) would approve the AstraZeneca / Oxford product by Thursday. Sources also told the newspaper that it would be effective against the new virus strain discovered in Britain earlier this month.
The benefits of the Oxford vaccine include that it can be stored in a regular medical refrigerator and costs as low as £ 2 to £ 3 per injection. The Pfizer product costs about five times more at £ 15 per dose and should be kept at minus 70 degrees Celsius.
The Oxford-AstraZeneca survey is also being conducted in the UK, which means that travel restrictions due to the pandemic will have a minimal impact on production or rollout.
Sky News reports that it is supposed to be safer for those with allergies.
First British Coronavirus strain cases found in Sweden https://t.co/8HpmauXjpo
– Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) 26 December 2020
The Telegraph also claims, according to sources, that from January 4, ministers are drawing up plans for millions of Britons to receive doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine. Two million people are expected to administer the first dose of Oxford or Pfizer jab within the first two weeks of the new year.
The government has allegedly ordered 100 million doses and if approved, vaccination centers at sports centers and other major venues will open in the second week of January.
In response to the reports, the government told Sky News: “The drug regulator is reviewing the final data from the University of Oxford / AstraZeneca, phase three, to determine whether the vaccine meets their strict standards of quality, safety and efficacy. . “
“We must now give the MHRA the time to carry out its important work, and we must wait for its advice,” the spokesman added.
A third vaccine, developed by Moderna, is also currently being evaluated by the MHRA.