French Minister of Health Olivier Berand is publicly vaccinating AstraZeneca’s Corona 19 vaccine at a hospital in Mlöl near Paris on the 8th. Mlyon=AFP Yonhap News
Three confrontations over the efficacy of AstraZeneca’s new coronavirus infection (Corona 19) vaccine are escalating. The World Health Organization (WHO), a global health control tower, even recommended vaccination, but the controversy is intensifying. A study that showed that the vaccine’s preventive effect against mutant viruses originating in South Africa was the final blow.
On the 8th (local time), CEO Richard Hachet, who leads the Corona 19 vaccine project’CoVax Facility’ with WHO, said, “AstraZeneca vaccine is an important tool to save lives.” “It is too early to discard.” said. “The existing virus still dominates, and the AstraZeneca vaccine is excellent,” he said. Kovacs plans to supply 330 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine at the end of this month.
The WHO pointed out that studies were insufficient to determine vaccine efficacy. The sample was too small because there were only 2,000 participants in the South African mutation-related clinical trial that was released that day. The vaccine itself was not a problem, but the short period of time when the first and second vaccination intervals were set to 4 weeks was also seen as a factor that lowered immunity. Kate O’Brien, the head of the WHO vaccination, argued that “the longer the vaccination interval, the higher the efficacy.”
Similar opinions come from within South Africa. Salim Abdul Karim, co-chairman of the South African Corona 19 Advisory Committee, helped, “It is too early to conclude that this vaccine does not prevent serious diseases.” The South African health authorities, which had withheld the AstraZeneca vaccination the day before, decided to change their policy and first inoculate 100,000 doses in stages to track and observe the preventive effect.
Experts predict that “the South African mutation will not become the dominant species within a few months.” “The threat right now is the British mutant virus, and the AstraZeneca vaccine is working,” said Jonathan Van Tham, deputy chief medical officer of the UK. The British mutation is now spreading in more than 70 countries, and a study has revealed that it could become a dominant species next month in the United States.
However, it is clear that the mutant virus makes it difficult to overcome Corona 19. Although the sample is small, the clinical results of the University of Oxford in the UK and the University of Bittersland in South Africa showed that the AstraZeneca vaccine had only 10% of the effect of preventing mutations in South Africa. Even a professor at the University of Witbathersrand, who led the study, said, “Even if the sample is increased and tested again, it will be difficult to show the effect in the 40-50% range.”
Due to the constant controversy, vaccination plans in each country are in the midst of a huge setback. Reuters said, “The fact that the AstraZeneca vaccine doesn’t work well against mutations in South Africa is an ominous signal that other vaccines can do that,” said Reuters. “If the vaccine doesn’t cope well with mutations, the global village will have to fight a longer and more expensive war than before.” Pointed out.
Kim Pyo-hyang reporter [email protected]
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