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‘Will be available for autumn’: Oxford researcher on new version of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine
While Oxford researchers continue to work on the new version of their Covid-19 vaccine, Moderna announced last month that its vaccine will be effective against South African variant.
A new version of AstraZeneca’s vaccine to provide immunity against the coronavirus variant first detected in South Africa “will be available for the autumn”, a lead researcher of the vaccine development programme at the University of Oxford said on Sunday. Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at Oxford, told BBC that the researchers have already started working on the first part of the manufacturing process in the university and the new version will be ready to use in the autumn.
“It looks very much like (the new vaccine) will be available for the autumn. We’re already working on the first part of the manufacturing process in Oxford, that will be passed on to other members of the manufacturing supply chain as we go through the Spring, and it looks very much like that we can have a new version ready to use in the autumn,” said Gilbert.
The vaccinologist commented on the availability of a new version of the AstraZeneca vaccine after the biopharmaceutical company admitted that the current version, AZD1222, had significantly reduced efficacy against the South African variant called B.1.351. A spokesperson of AstraZeneca reportedly said that the early data from small phase I/II trial has shown limited efficacy against mild disease primarily due to B.1.351.
Read | Explained: Why South African Covid-19 variant remains a concern amid vaccination
Gilbert said the researchers expect to show this year that the new version of the vaccine against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) “will generate antibodies that recognise the new variant.” “And then it will be very much like working on flu vaccines, so people will be familiar with the idea that we have to have new components, new strains in the flu vaccine every year to keep up with the new strains that are circulating,” she added.
While Oxford researchers continue to work on the new version of their Covid-19 vaccine, US biotechnology company Moderna Inc, known for its messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics and vaccines, announced last month that its Covid-19 vaccine will be effective against the new variants of coronavirus identified in the United Kingdom and South Africa. Moderna said in a statement that the two-dose regimen of its Covid-19 vaccine at the 100 microgram dose is expected to be protective against emerging strains detected to date.
