Oxford scientists prepare to tweak vaccine in battle against variants
OXFORD scientists are preparing to rapidly produce new versions of their vaccine to combat emerging coronavirus variants from the UK, South Africa and Brazil.
The university confirmed last night that the team behind the Astrazeneca jab is undertaking feasibility studies to reconfigure the technology at 48 hours’ notice. The news emerged as research suggested that the current generation of Covid vaccines may not work against the new South African strain.
A laboratory study found that the 501Y.V2 variant achieved “complete escape” from monoclonal antibodies – man-made proteins that act like the antibodies produced by jabs.
Boris Johnson yesterday said he was holding “intensive talks” with scientists about the new variants. He told MPS he was confident the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency was capable of approving new modifications as quickly as necessary.
It came as government data showed that 343,168 first vaccine doses were administered on Tuesday, the highest daily figure yet and one that reversed a three-day decline.
A source at Oxford told The Daily Telegraph that scientists were trying to estimate how quickly they could reconfigure their vaccine creation platform. “The team do not currently think they will need to, but it would be stupid not to be prepared,” they said. “It should take a day or two to tweak the system.”
Conducted by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in Johannesburg, the study showed the new South African variant could evade three classes of “therapeutically relevant monoclonal antibodies”. Prof James
Naismith, an expert in structural biology at Oxford, said the findings were “not good news”, but said the “real world” immune response prompted by current vaccines could be more effective. Yesterday, a separate study found that the Pfizer vaccine appeared to protect against the B.1.1.7 variant that first took hold in Kent and is currently wreaking havoc across the UK.
A university spokesman said: “It is known that viruses constantly change through mutation.
“Oxford is carefully assessing the impact of new variants on vaccine immunity and evaluating the processes needed for rapid development of adjusted Covid-19 vaccines if these should be necessary.”
It also emerged that, despite the uptick in vaccinations, GP vaccination hubs are operating just one day a week in some areas because of poor supply.
Doctors yesterday said they were getting through a week’s supply of the jabs in only a few hours.
Government sources told The Telegraph that Pfizer’s factory refit was only part of the problem, and that the biological process of creating the vaccine was the main limiting factor, as well as the challenges of distribution.
Dr Mark Stanford-wood, a senior GP in Plymouth, said lack of supply was slowing down the protection of the elderly and vulnerable.
“We are only getting about 1,000 to 1,200 vaccines a week, so we are only able to vaccinate for one day out of seven,” he said, adding that it could be another three weeks before people under 70 got the jab.
Dr Helen Salisbury, a GP in Oxford, said her practice was receiving 300 Astrazeneca doses a week, which could be administered in two and a half hours.