E-Paper
‘Delighted’, tweets Adar Poonawalla as Oxford vaccine claims 70% efficacy
Covishield, as the Oxford vaccine is known in India, is a low-cost, logistically manageable vaccine against Covid-19, the SII CEO said after the announcement of the initial efficacy results.
Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of Serum Institute of India which is producing Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine, apart from conducting trials in India, expressed happiness after Oxford said the vaccine is 70.4% effective.
“I am delighted to hear that, Covishield, a low-cost, logistically manageable and soon to be widely available, Covid-19 vaccine, will offer protection up to 90% in one type of dosage regime and 62% in the other dosage regime. Further details on this will be provided this evening,” Adar tweeted.
The development will speed up vaccine roll out in India as Serum Institute of India had already planned to apply to the Indian government for emergency authorisation once it deems fit. Several countries are looking forward to Oxford vaccine as it will be cheaper than Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. In India, it will be priced Rs 600-600 per dose and the government would be able to procure it at almost half the rate, Poonawalla said earlier.
On Monday, the Oxford-Astrazeneca announced that one of the dosing might be 90% effective. “One dosing regimen (n=2,741) showed vaccine efficacy of 90% when AZD1222 was given as a half dose, followed by a full dose at least one month apart, and another dosing regimen (n=8,895) showed 62% efficacy when given as two full doses at least one month apart. The combined analysis from both dosing regimens (n=11,636) resulted in an average efficacy of 70%,” Astrazeneca said.
Compared to Moderna and Pfizer which have claimed around 94% efficacy, Oxford’s initial reports appear to be less promising, but this is only the initial reports. Out of all the participants, 131 contracted Covid-19, but none of them was serious. There was no need for hospitalisation, Astrazeneca said.
However, Covishield has a number of advantages over Pfizer that needs minus 70 degree Celcius temperature for storage. The vaccine can be stored, transported and handled at normal refrigerated conditions (2-8 degrees Celsius/ 36-46 degrees Fahrenheit) for at least six months and administered within existing healthcare settings, Astrazeneca said.
