22-08-20, 15:01
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re: OMICRON: Scientists Probe Link Between HIV & Variants
England and Germany Neck-and-Neck in Race to Produce First Vaccine
BRITAIN and Germany are locked in a race to develop a coronavirus vaccine before the end of the year.
Experts say the result is too close to call but will be decided by evidence and data
Paul Nuki, Global Health Security Editor ; Sarah Newey, Global Health Security Reporter and Justin Huggler Berlin
The Telegraph UK, 22 AUG 2020.
England and Germany are running head to head to produce a coronavirus vaccination which could be approved before the predicted second wave this winter.
Kate Bingham, chair of the UK Vaccine Taskforce, which is overseeing the production of the vaccine in the UK has confirmed that a team of scientists in Oxford and another in Mainz in Germany were neck and neck in terms of production.
She told Sky News: ‘I think we have a shot of getting a vaccine this year. There’s two potential candidates, one would be the Oxford candidate and the other one is the German vaccine from BioNTech.’
Those are the two that, if everything works, could potentially be both registered and delivered this year’ she went on but cautioned that it is more likely to be next year before they hit the market.
Clinical trials for the Oxford vaccine have seen it hailed as a breakthrough with most patients showing an antibody response after one dose and all after a second round.
The German vaccine has been dubbed ‘the Amazon of vaccines’ as it can be recreated quickly. Pic: Shutterstock.
However, while it is likely to prevent against severe cases, it hasn’t been shown to provide 100 percent protection and it’s not known how long it lasts. There are also some side effects including headaches and fever and it’s slow to be produced.
By contrast, the German vaccine has a relatively quick turn around because it uses an mRNA-based product which means that it can be created quickly in a laboratory which has led to it being dubbed ‘The Amazon of vaccines.’
The two vaccines are among six that the UK has already ordered which use four different technologies to fight the virus and which equates 340 million doses reports The Telegraph.
COVID-19 Vaccine: Both vaccines are in phase three of the clinical trials where they are being tested in multiple locations. Pic: Shutterstock
Ms. Bingham states that she is ‘very optimistic’ about all of the vaccines, but that German and Oxford vaccines are the most advanced.
Both vaccines have completed phase one and two clinical trials and the researchers are now conducting intensive phase three trials with tens of thousands of people in different locations to demonstrate their safety at scale.
MORE;
Covid-19 can survive on frozen meat and fish for up to three weeks
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