UK Approves Another Vaccine, But With A Twist

[PeteS in CA]

UK Approves Another Vaccine, But With A Twist

https://hotair.com/archives/jazz-shaw/2020/12/30/uk-approves-another-vaccine-twist/

Here in the United States, we’re still working almost entirely with two vaccines thus far. One is from Pfizer and the other from Moderna. But as of today, the folks in the UK will have a new vaccine option. This one was developed by Oxford and AstraZeneca and it supposedly has a couple of advantages. The chief among these is that the vaccine can be stored at more manageable temperatures than the Pfizer product, which basically needs to be kept at sub-zero temperatures. But as this AP report indicates, the way they will be distributing and administering this new vaccine seems questionable to some in the medical community.
...
The next administrative decision that is raising some eyebrows is the choice of the British Department of Health to “prioritize giving as many people as possible a single dose.” Like the others already in circulation, the AstraZeneca vaccine is supposed to be given in two doses, but the DoH is saying that they are confident that a single dose initially “is believed to give a large measure of protection.” How much protection is “a large measure” when we’re already talking about a vaccine that’s only showing a 70% success rate to begin with?

They’re planning to make sure everyone does get a second shot, but they’re projecting that it will take at least twelve weeks for that to happen in most cases. ...

Weird. Hypothetically, I could see doing this with the 94%-95% efficacy Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, but with the 62%-70% efficacy AstraZeneca vaccine?

FWIW, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is being tested in a single-dose regime, but that is probably at least 2-3 months away from emergency use approval.

[The_Reader_David]

The reason for the decision is two-fold:  first in the clinical trials there were no cases of serious (life threatening) symptoms in subjects in the treatment group (who got the vaccine not the placebo) even after only one dose, so while it two doses to give the 60% to 70% immunity against catching COVID-19 at all, even one dose would save lives and keep people out of hospital, and second the suggested lag time between doses for the Oxford vaccine is more flexible (4 to 12 weeks) that for either of the mRNA-based vaccines.  Perfectly sensible decision if the supply chain is up to getting the first doses out fast and the boosters out within the next two and a half months.