‘Vaccine ready by September’

BRITISH people will be able to access a coronavirus vaccine from September, the chief executive of drug-maker AstraZeneca has said, despite concerns it will not be ready.

Pascal Soriot told The Andrew Marr Show yesterday that British people will get first access to the vaccine from autumn.

The pharmaceutical firm, which is working with Oxford University, had previously said it has secured the first agreements for at least 400 million doses of the vaccine.

But a leading member of the project told The Sunday Telegraph the lower transmission of Covid-19 in the community leaves the trial with only a 50% chance of success.

Asked if people in Britain will be among the first to get the vaccine, Mr Soriot said: “Yes, we have actually received an order from the British Government to supply 100 million doses of vaccine, and those will go to the British people.

“And there’s no doubt, starting in September, we will start delivering these doses of vaccine to the British Government for vaccination.”

But Mr Soriot went on to say the possibility of the vaccine being rolled out in autumn depended on if an Oxford University trial worked before the transmission rate lowers further.

He added: “The vaccine has to work and that’s one question, and the other question is, we have to be able to demonstrate it.

“We have to run as fast as possible before the disease disappears so we can demonstrate that the vaccine is effective.”

Oxford University’s Jenner Institute and the Oxford Vaccine Group began development on a vaccine in January, using a virus taken from chimpanzees.

Following an initial phase of testing on 160 healthy volunteers between 18 and 55, the study is now set to progress to phases two and three, which involve increasing the testing to up to 10,260 people and expanding the age range of volunteers to include children and the elderly.

Professor Adrian Hill, director of the Jenner Institute, said if the virus’ spread is too low, not enough of the volunteers will catch it and the trial will be unable to definitively say if the vaccine works.

“It’s a race against the virus disappearing, and against time,” Professor Hill said.