"Coronavirus: Oxford vaccine triggers immune response"

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Coronavirus: Asignaron a la Argentina 2,2 millones de dosis por Covax

Coronavirus: Asignaron a la Argentina 2,2 millones de dosis por Covax

www.lanacion.com.ar

Excerpt from article: 3 February 2021....by Fabiola Czubaj
Coronavirus: 2.2 million doses assigned to Argentina by Covax.
The World Health Organization (WHO) released today the first figures of the doses of the Pfizer and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines that are being assigned to the participating countries of the international Covax system.

In this first forecast, Argentina appears with 2,275,200 units assigned of the Oxford/AstraZeneca product for the first semester of the year, subject to the completion of the process of including the vaccine in the list of emergency use of the WHO. As indicated, this could happen in the next few days or weeks, according to the “latest reviews” in progress.

The document details a first allocation to 145 countries for the first two quarters with 240 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine produced at the Serum Institute of India (SII) and another 96 million doses included in an agreement that is closing with the Gavi Alliance for Vaccines laboratory, which coordinates the Covax Initiative with the WHO and the Coalition for the Promotion of Innovations for Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI). The laboratory producing the doses initially planned for the country is SK Bioscience....

Last November, the Minister of Health of the Nation, Ginés González García, had announced the arrival of a greater number of doses through this access system: “We have already paid for 9 million vaccines through Covax that we would have available in the month of February ”, he had said.

The delay in the process of incorporation into the WHO emergency use list of the AstraZeneca vaccine, as explained last week by officials from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), is due to the fact that its production is decentralized. “When a product submitted for inclusion in the list of products for emergency use has been evaluated through other emergency mechanisms by a rigorous authority that shares its information with the prequalification program, WHO does not intend to duplicate the work ”, It was specified to LA NACION....

"We do not have the exact date for any country," said Jarbas Barbosa da Silva, PAHO's deputy director, this afternoon, regarding when the doses could begin to arrive in the region. In a press conference via Zoom, the official indicated that the availability of any vaccine through Covax depends on the producers meeting the conditions for WHO approval for emergency use. “The latest revisions are pending, which is the conclusion of the evaluation of the WHO prequalification team, for the AstraZeneca product and that process would be completed in two or three weeks.”, he added....

 

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Coronavirus: ¿cuántas vacunas recibirá Argentina en lo inmediato? | A las dosis comprometidas de AstraZeneca, Covax/OMS y Sputnik V, se sumará una partida extra de 1.200.000 dosis de AstraZeneca

El gobierno firmó contrato para asegurar la llegada de una partida extra: 580 mil dosis en febrero y una cifra equivalente en marzo, que llegarán de AstraZeneca. Además están las dosis asignadas de Covax. A esas deben sumarse las Sputnik V que enviará ...

www.pagina12.com.ar

Excerpt from article: 4 February 2021
To the committed doses of AstraZeneca, Covax/OMS and Sputnik V, will be added an extra batch of 1,200,000 doses of AstraZeneca.
Coronavirus: how many vaccines will Argentina receive immediately?

....The government negotiated the arrival in February of an extra 580,000 doses of AstraZeneca/Oxford, and 580,000 more in March, which will come from the Serum Institute of India. The contract has already been signed, they would begin to arrive starting next week and the information was provided by the Laboratory itself. This item is in addition to the one that the biotechnology company promised to send as of March (22.4 million doses) which will arrive through the Covax mechanism....

 

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Sputnik-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine trials to start in Azerbaijan, MidEast

Human trials of a COVID-19 vaccine combining a British shot from AstraZeneca and Oxford University with Russia's Sputnik V vaccine will begin next week in Azerbaijan and some Middle Eastern nations, a Russian official said on Thursday.

www.reuters.com

 

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Confirmó el Gobierno 1,1 millones de dosis extra de la vacuna de AstraZeneca

Confirmó el Gobierno 1,1 millones de dosis extra de la vacuna de AstraZeneca

www.lanacion.com.ar

4 February 2021....by Maia Jastreblansky and Fabiola Czubaj
Government confirmed 1.1 million extra doses of AstraZeneca vaccine.
The Government confirmed that Argentina will receive an "extra" batch of 580,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine during what is left of this month. A shipment that, if the announcement is fulfilled, will serve as a "lifesaver" for Alberto Fernández. After the delays that Russia exhibited in January, the President is racing against time to avoid new holes in the vaccination plan.

In the last hours, AstraZeneca offered the Government an anticipated lot of additionally 1,160,000 doses between February and March, arguing that Argentina was one of the first countries to authorize the product after the UK regulatory authority, which is the country of origin.

"The announcement of these vaccines from the Serum Institute of India is important because it is outside of what was already agreed with AstraZeneca. This shipment consists of 580,000 in February and another 580,000 in March and they are added to those that we already had in mind", Arnaldo Medina, Secretary of Health Quality of the Ministry of Health, said in radio statements.

Those more than 1.1 million would be added to the 22.4 million doses agreed by contract last year and outside the quota assigned by the international Covax Initiative, which the World Health Organization (WHO) anticipated yesterday. that the country has assigned 2.2 million of the same product for this first semester.

The AstraZeneca vaccine has a disparate application around the world. Despite the fact that, at the end of January, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved its use for people over 18 years of age, several European countries are giving up on applying it to people over 65. With what recommendation, then, would it apply in Argentina?

....the Secretary for Access to Health, Carla Vizzotti, added during the virtual presentation before legislators: "There are some countries that are preferring the AstraZeneca vaccine for persons under 65 and those are decisions of each country. We have our National Immunization Commission (CoNaIn) that is analyzing this situation and we continue to receive the information. But all vaccines are safe and effective, they all meet the WHO minimum requirement of 50% efficacy and help prevent mortality. "....Meanwhile, CoNaIn has not yet evaluated the use of this product in older adults, according to LA NACION....

....For now, the list of countries that have chosen not to vaccinate those 65 and over with this vaccine until they have more information on its efficacy and safety are France, Germany, Poland, Austria, Sweden, Italy and the Netherlands. These days, Spain could join. The EMA approved its use last month for persons over 18, but the regulatory authorities of those countries preferred to recommend it for the population up to 64 years of age and hope to have additional data to include the elderly group.

 

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Not recommending the AstraZeneca vaccine for the elderly risks the lives of the most vulnerable

Regulators in Europe are at odds over whether the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine should be given to the elderly. In the UK, the vaccine has been approved for use in adults aged 18 and up, but France, Germany, Sweden and Austria say the vaccine should be prioritized for those under the age of 65...

medicalxpress.com

 

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Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID shot less effective against South African variant: study

British drugmaker AstraZeneca <AZN.L> said on Saturday its vaccine developed with the University of Oxford appeared to offer only limited protection against mild disease caused by the South African variant of COVID-19, based on early data from a trial.

www.reuters.com

The Coronavirus Is a Master of Mixing Its Genome, Worrying Scientists (Published 2021)

New studies underscore how coronaviruses frequently mix their genetic components — which could contribute to the rise of dangerous variants.

www.nytimes.com

 

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This article published by The Telegraph is paywall restricted....
Oxford jab may only be 10% effective against variant
8 February 2020....by Danny Boyle
Is it a case of taking two steps forward and one step back? The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine may be only 10% effective against the South African variant of Covid, it has emerged, as experts warn 147 UK cases could be the "tip of the iceberg". The results of a new study show the jab offers virtually no protection against mild to moderate illness - meaning it is likely to allow the virus to spread. But scientists believe the jab that is currently shouldering the bulk of the rollout burden in the UK should protect against hospitalisation and death from the variant. The full details came to light as UK ministers sought to bolster public confidence in the vaccine programme. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that medicine "is slowly getting the upper hand over the disease" and Health Secretary Matt Hancock told this evening's Downing Street briefing: "We're turning a corner in our battle against coronavirus.". He also urged over-70s who have not yet been vaccinated to contact the NHS....

Meanwhile, the PM has insisted tighter border controls are not effective until UK case rates are "really much lower". It came as it emerged that not a single hotel has yet signed a formal contract to provide quarantine for arrivals from 33 "red list" countries - just a week before stricter restrictions begin....

 

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Excerpt from article:

Las vacunas que la Argentina espera en estos días | Se cerró el acuerdo con Sinopharm, están por llegar más Sputnik V y la de AstraZeneca

Este lunes se cerró el acuerdo entre el gobierno argentino y Sinopharm, el laboratorio chino: el contrato dice, textualmente, que debe proveer, antes de fin de febrero, un millón de vacunas, mitad dosis 1 y mitad dosis 2. Al mismo tiempo, el Fondo Ruso...

www.pagina12.com.ar

8 February 2021....by Raúl Kollmann
The vaccines that Argentina awaits these days.
....As made public last week, the president signed the deal with Oxford/AstraZeneca for 580,000 doses in February and the same amount in March. Some would also start to come, from India, also in the next seven days. The vaccine has two advantages. First of all, it costs: US$4.00. Below Sputnik, US$9.50 and well below Sinopharm, US$20.00. In addition, it does not require storage at 17 degrees below zero, but at temperatures of a normal refrigerator....

 

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S Africa looking to roll out AstraZeneca jab in ‘stepped manner’

Health officials are working with international scientists to draw up new COVID strategy after original plan’s halting.

www.aljazeera.com

 

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WHO warns against dismissing AstraZeneca vaccine after setbacks

The World Health Organization and its Covax partners cautioned Monday against dismissing AstraZeneca's COVID vaccine after several setbacks, insisting it remained an important, life-saving tool.

medicalxpress.com