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Summary
- German vaccination authority has given the green light to Oxford-AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine for use in seniors.
- Canada has received the initial shots of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.
- The UK will receive 10 million doses of AZD1222 from the Serum Institute of India.
British-Swedish company AstraZeneca Plc (LON:AZN) and the University of Oxford partnered to develop a coronavirus vaccine, AZD1222. The clinical trials reported that the COVID-19 vaccine had an efficacy of 82.4% when given in two doses 12 weeks apart.
In the UK, the vaccine had obtained emergency use authorisation (EUA) in December 2020. Besides, India had given the green light to a version of AZD1222 named Covishield in January 2021.
Source: Copyright © 2021 Kalkine Media Pty Ltd.
Let us dig deeper and discuss the latest updates around the Oxford-AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 Vaccine:
Germany approves AstraZeneca’s vaccine for the elderly
Germany’s vaccination authority has given the green light to the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine for seniors (aged 65 years and above).
Initially, Germany had declined the vaccine authorisation for people aged above 65, indicating a lack of evidence from clinical trials confirming the vaccine’s effectiveness on that age cohort.
However, mounting data demonstrating the efficacy of the AstraZeneca jab among the elderly in the UK led to a change in Berlin’s decision. Moreover, France has also eased a ban on Oxford-AstraZeneca’s vaccine administration to people over 65 years.
Source: © Mikemareen| Megapixl.com
Italy blocks AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine shipment for Australia
The European Union (EU) has made its first intervention into the supply of COVID-19 vaccines. Meantime, Italy allegedly blocked a shipment of the Oxford- AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine supply to Australia.
The government took this step after the vaccine manufacturer failed to provide the vaccine shots promised to Europe.
It is the first time the EU has employed a ban for the export mechanism set up to make sure that drug developers comply with the contracts.
According to some media reports, AstraZeneca had apparently requested authorisation from the Italian government to provide almost 250K doses from its Anagni plant, close to Rome.
ALSO READ: COVID-19 vaccine updates from Nook and Corner
Canada obtains the first shipment of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine
Canada has received almost 500K shots of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on 3 March 2021 from the Serum Institute of India (SII).
Now the concern is who should get the COVID-19 vaccine first amid conflicts arising related to its use. The committee reveals that there is limited information from clinical trials for the efficacy of the vaccine for seniors and recommends that they will give priority to vaccines developed by Pfizer Inc (NYSE:PFE)-BioNTech SE (NASDAQ:BNTX), and Moderna Inc (NYSE:MRNA). The two vaccines by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are approved for use in Canada.
Moreover, the committee and Health Canada emphasise that so far, no safety issues have occurred in the clinical trials or in millions of seniors who have received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in other nations.
UK to obtain 10 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from SII
The UK will receive 10 million vaccine doses of AZD1222 from the SII. The vaccine shots are being shipped to the UK as part of an order of 100 million vaccine jabs that was the original deal for AstraZeneca-developed COVID-19 vaccines.
SII is the world's leading vaccine developer in terms of volume and is mass producing the Oxford-AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine for poor and middle-income nations.
DO READ: AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) to tweak its vaccine for the South African variant
