Oxford/AstraZeneca Vaccine Approved in UK 12-30-2020, 12:21 PM
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The UK has approved the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and manufactured by AstraZeneca. The reason this vaccine is such big news, is that it doesn't hold the same logistical problems that the Pfizer vaccine is restricted by. It does not have to be stored at super low temperatures, making is much easier to distribute.
Here is an article with a rolling live update on the new vaccine.
Here is another article that gives you a (very basic) idea of what the vaccine is, how it works, and how they rolled it out so fast. I've copied some of the key components of the article below:
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What is the Oxford vaccine and how does it work?
It is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus (known as an adenovirus) from chimpanzees. It has been modified to look more like coronavirus - although it can't cause illness.
When the vaccine is injected into a patient, it prompts the immune system to start making antibodies and primes it to attack any coronavirus infection.
Research has shown it is highly effective.
The UK has ordered 100 million doses. Unlike Pfizer's jab - which has to be kept at an extremely cold temperature (-70C) - the Oxford vaccine can be stored in a normal fridge. This makes it much easier to distribute.
How has the vaccine been produced so quickly?
Oxford University researchers had already done a lot of work before 2020 on developing a vaccine which could be adapted to tackle different diseases.
That meant a lot of the building blocks were already in place, and scientists weren't starting from scratch.
The vaccine has been through all the usual research stages, although for speed these have overlapped when they would usually happen one after another.
And the UK's medicines regulator - the MHRA - has been carrying out a "rolling review" of data all year.An article here from a few months ago, describes some of the trial findings as they were still being carried out:
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What did the trial show?
The vaccine has been developed in around 10 months, a process that normally takes a decade.
Oxford vaccine: How did they make it so quickly?
There are two results from the trial of more than 20,000 volunteers in the UK and Brazil.
Overall, there were 30 cases of Covid in people who had two doses of the vaccine and 101 cases in people who received a dummy injection. The researchers said it worked out at 70% protection, which is better than the seasonal flu jab.
Nobody getting the actual vaccine developed severe-Covid or needed hospital treatment.
Prof Andrew Pollard, the trial's lead investigator, said he was "really pleased" with the results as "it means we have a vaccine for the world".
However, protection was 90% in an analysis of around 3,000 people on the trial who were given a half-sized first dose and a full-sized second dose.
Prof Pollard said the finding was "intriguing" and would mean "we would have a lot more doses to distribute."
The analysis also suggested there was a reduction in the number of people being infected without developing symptoms, who are still thought to be able to spread the virus.![[Image: 4GNsK67.png]](http://i.imgur.com/4GNsK67.png)
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