November 23, 2020

Some good news, if you can handle it! This vaccine is more effective with an initial half-dose -- which means they can innoculate more people. Via The Guardian:

Oxford University and AstraZeneca have announced their jab is effective in preventing many people getting ill and it has been shown to work in different age groups, including the elderly. There are early indications it might also help stop the spread of the disease.
...
Oxford University said interim analysis from its phase 3 vaccine trial showed that the efficacy of their vaccine is 70%. But that came from combining the results of two different dosing regimes, one of which was 90% and the other was 62%. The 90% regime involved a half-dose first and then a full dose of the vaccine later. The interim analysis was based on 131 infections among participants who received the vaccine and those in a control group who were given an established meningitis shot.

In a statement, Prof Andrew Pollard, the director of the Oxford Vaccine Group and chief investigator of the Oxford vaccine trial, said: “These findings show that we have an effective vaccine that will save many lives. Excitingly, we’ve found that one of our dosing regimens may be around 90% effective and if this dosing regime is used, more people could be vaccinated with planned vaccine supply.

The Astar Zeneca vaccine is refrigerator-stable, so it can be easily transported anywhere in the world. It is also substantially cheaper, at about £3 ($4) a dose instead of more than £20 ($27) for the others.

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