Korean purchase AstraZeneca vaccine, “vaccinated next month in Britain”… CEO “Discover the recipe for victory”

The British Telegraph reported on the 26th that the UK plans to start supplying the Corona 19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University from the 4th of next month (local time). The AstraZeneca vaccine has signed a contract to purchase 10 million people in Korea, and is aiming to be introduced in February next year.

According to Telegraph, the British government has planned to deliver the AstraZeneca vaccine or Pfizer vaccine to 2 million people within two weeks. In the case of the Pfizer vaccine, the UK has already been vaccinating the public for the first time in the world since the 8th.

In the meantime, it has been observed that the AstraZeneca vaccine will be approved for use in the UK soon after Christmas. British Health Minister Matt Hancock said on the 23rd that “Oxford University in the UK and AstraZeneca, a pharmaceutical company, are waiting for approval by submitting the full data of the vaccine to the MHRA.”

John Bell, a professor at Oxford University’s medical school, who is also the UK government science adviser, said in an interview with the BBC that day, “I think the approval will be made right after Christmas. “The data is better than ever, so I’m not concerned at all.” This means that there is no problem with vaccine safety.

A senior UK government source told Telegraph that MHRA’s approval for the AstraZeneca vaccine could fly as early as the 27th.

Telegraph reports that if British health authorities approve the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, a large vaccination center will be set up in a sports stadium or conference hall in the second week of next month. The UK is creating a’vaccine hub’ for vaccination by renovating soccer fields, race tracks, and football stadiums.

The UK government has purchased 100 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, of which 40 million doses are expected to be supplied by the end of March next year. AstraZeneca vaccine is inexpensive at 3-5 dollars (about 3300-5500 won) per dose, and has the advantage of being stored and distributed at 2-8 degrees Celsius. Because of this, many countries, including Korea, the United States, Canada, and Japan, pre-purchased, and expectations were high.

However, in the final stage of the clinical trial, phase 3, by the mistake of the researchers, only half of the dose was administered. Accordingly, AstraZeneca has announced that it will conduct additional clinical trials.

In this regard, Pascal Sorio, CEO of AstraZeneca, said in an interview with the Sunday Times on the 26th, “We seem to have figured out a (successful) recipe for Seungri and how to get benefits from two doses.” He added, “It is difficult to say any more because we will release it someday.” This is interpreted as meaning that the questions raised in the phase 3 results can be resolved.

India will also approve the emergency use of the AstraZeneca vaccine as early as next week and start vaccinating next month, local media such as Times of India and India Times reported.

As soon as UK authorities approve the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, a meeting will be held by an expert committee of the Indian Central Pharmaceutical Standards Administration (CDSCO) to review data on the safety and efficacy of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the foreign press said.

Meanwhile, apart from vaccination, in the UK, where the corona crisis is spreading, the highest level of quarantine regulations will be expanded. According to the BBC on the 26th, the government added an additional four-stage countermeasures, the highest level in eastern and southeastern England, including Sussex, Oxfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.

England’s population covered by this measure is about 6 million. As a result, about 24 million people, or 40% of England’s population, were virtually tied to their homes, a foreign press reported.

The fourth stage of the response to Corona 19 is a new quarantine regulation established by the British government with the emergence of a more infectious virus strain. Limit movement to a level similar to the containment order You must stay at home unless you are unable to work from home or for purposes such as attending school, childcare, or exercising. Also, businesses in non-essential industries should be closed.

According to World Omometer, an international statistics website, more than 30,000 confirmed cases per day are pouring out in the UK recently. The cumulative confirmed cases in the UK amounted to 2.25 million, and the cumulative death toll amounted to 70,000.

Reporter Lim Sun-young [email protected]