A Covid vaccine from Oxford University and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is being considered for use in the UK.What is the Oxford vaccine and how does it work?
It is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus 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.The UK has ordered 100 million doses. Unlike Pfizer's jab - which has to be kept at an extremely cold temperature - the Oxford vaccine can be stored in a normal fridge. This makes it much easier to distribute.
And the UK's medicines regulator - the MHRA - has been carrying out a "rolling review" of data all year.It is currently in the last stage of MHRA assessment, after the government asked itProf Sarah Gilbert, lead researcher on the vaccine, has said the chances it will be given to people before the end of the year are "pretty high".
However, for a small group who got a half dose and then a full dose, that figure was 90%. It's not clear yet why the results were better for this group.It may be that their immune systems were primed more gradually, but the scientists can't yet explain it.And as with the other vaccines, scientists don't yet know if it stops people catching Covid - that's something they won't know until they can see the impact of vaccination over time.
Soon. Meanwhile, why are Pfizer’s Covid vaccines languishing in storage, not being transported?Could it be that Trump& Co are directing States to Moderna’s equally fine vaccine because they invested in it? Why are MI, MA,and CO, receiving only a fraction of the promised vaccines?
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