Vaccine: Commentator says UK must not ‘give away’ supply
Vaccination efforts against Covid-19 are ramping up worldwide, and trials into new vaccines are continuing. The latest jab to get one step closer to a stamp of approval is the Novavax vaccine, which has proven to be 89.3 percent effective in preventing coronavirus.
The result came from a trial carried out in the UK and showed Novavax was nearly as effective in protecting against the more highly contagious variant first discovered in the UK, according to a preliminary analysis.
A mid-stage trial of the vaccine in South Africa, where a potent variant of the virus is common, showed 60 percent effectiveness among people who did not have HIV.
Novavax said the UK trial, which enrolled 15,000 people aged 18 to 84, is expected to be used to apply for regulatory review in Britain, the European Union and other countries.
Some 27 percent of people in the trial are over age 65.
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In the UK trial, the effectiveness of the vaccine was close to those of the two authorized vaccines from Pfizer Inc /BioNTech SE and Moderna Inc.
Currently, these two vaccines are being issued to eligible Britons.
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines need two doses to become fully effective and were around 95 percent effective at preventing Covid-19 in clinical trials.
John Moore, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, said the UK data are essentially the same as those shown by Pfizer and Moderna.
He said: “It’s not statistically different.
“The vaccine basically works well in the predominant strain circulating in the UK, which means it’s like to be equally effective in the United States.
“The South African variant is clearly going to be an issue, but it’s not an absolutely catastrophic event either.
“The key thing is to stop this variant from spreading.”
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Where is the Novavax vaccine made?
For UK doses, the Novavax vaccine will be made in the North East of England, more specifically, Teesside.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday it was good news the Novavax vaccine for COVID-19 had proved effective in trials in the United Kingdom.
He tweeted: “Our medicines regulator will now assess the vaccine, which will be made in Teesside.
“If approved, we have 60m (million) doses on order.”
The vaccination programme is ongoing across the UK, with more than 7.9 million doses of either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine issued so far.
The vaccine is being issued in stages, with those most at risk and the older generations first to be offered the jab.
Data has shown 91 percent of people in Gloucestershire aged 80 and over have received their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine.
This means Gloucestershire the highest for any sub-regional area of England.
The figures also showed up to January 24, Gloucestershire had the highest proportion of people aged 80 and over who had received their first vaccine dose.
This was followed by Herefordshire & Worcestershire with 89 percent and Northamptonshire at 87 percent.
The local authorities with the lowest proportions were Our Healthier South East London at 60 percent and East London Health & Care Partnership with 63 percent.
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