Oxford vaccine ‘green light’
New jabs could get go-ahead in days, with 100MILLION UK doses on order
REGULATORS could be poised to approve the Oxford University vaccine against Covid-19 after receiving the final data on the potentially game-changing jab.
Hopes are high that the vaccine will be given the green light before the new year, as the UK has 100million doses on order.
It is understood the final results from trials have been delivered to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), clearing the way for a decision.
Neither Oxford University nor pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca, which manufactures the vaccine, have officially confirmed this is the case.
But the news has been welcomed by experts, as the Oxford vaccine is easier to store and transport than the existing Pfizer vaccine – the only one so far approved in the UK – which needs to be kept for most of the time at a temperature of around minus 70C.
Professor Danny Altmann, from the Department of Immunology and Inflammation at Imperial College London, said: ‘From the limited information available, it remains likely that the Oxford vaccine may be licensed by the end of the year. This would be a great Christmas present – it’s always been clear that our escape route needs more than one vaccine.
‘This one adds in a massive supply of doses, an easier supply chain and a profile of neutralising antibody and T-cell protection that would help to get the country immunised and the pandemic under control by Easter.’
The MHRA, which r egulates vaccines and medicines, did not reply to requests for a comment.
At the weekend, however, a spokesman for the body said: ‘Our rolling review of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is ongoing.
‘Our process for approving vaccines is designed to make sure that any Covid-19 vaccine authorised meets the expected high standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.
‘Any vaccine must undergo robust clinical trials in line with international standards, with oversight provided by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and no vaccine would be authorised for supply in the UK unless the expected standards of safety, quality and efficacy are met.’
The news comes as 47 MPs and peers have written to Downing Street calling for an ‘exit strategy’ in dealing with the pandemic. The l etter responds to a report f rom the National Audit Office which states that NHS England is working on the assumption it could vaccinate up to 25million people with two doses of vaccine during 2021.
Signed by Layla Moran, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus, it states: ‘ As the devolved nations receive the same population share of vaccine supplies, this report would suggest that less than half the UK population may be vaccinated by the end of 2021 – far short of the high percentage of people who need to receive the vaccine in order to achieve population immunity.’
The rollout of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine began on December 8, with those who will be administering the jabs to others being first in line to receive it themselves.
More than 18,000 people across Scotland had received the first dosage of the coronavirus vaccine by December 14.
They included some residents of care homes throughout the country – who have been chosen to be among the first to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
Two doses are required between 21 and 28 days apart.
This means that existing supplies have to be halved, so that the second dose is available to be given within the timeframe.
Deliveries of the vaccine have been arriving in the UK from Belgium, where they are manufactured.
They must be kept in ultra- cold freezers at minus 70C until shortly before it is administered.
Freezers are available at all major acute hospitals across the country and on Scotland’s islands.
Vaccinators and healthcare staff have been given the jag at vaccination hubs set up in hospitals north of the Border. The vaccine is also being taken to care homes to be administered on site.
Eventually, all 4.4million people in Scotland over the age of 18 will be offered a vaccination.
GPs, pharmacists and optometrists are expected to be among 2,000 recruited by the end of January to administer the jabs.
Those who are due to receive them will be contacted by post or, if they work in health and social care, by their employer.
The UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has also advised that 16 and 17-yearolds who have underlying health conditions should be factored into the first wave of vaccinations.
‘Escape route needs more than one ’