The AstraZeneca/University of Oxford coronavirus vaccine could get emergency nods in the UK and India within days, according to the Serum Institute of India (SII).
SII, which is manufacturing the AZ shot, already has 40-50 million doses of the vaccine manufactured and plans to crank out 100 million doses per month starting in March when a new plant is opened.
Phase 3 data released in November showed that the AZ shot was 62 percent effective — but that was when it was given in two full doses. When patients were given a half a dose first and then a full dose about a month later, the vaccine was 90 percent effective. The company’s CEO said the company plans to publish more data showing how this “winning formula” makes it work almost as well as the Pfizer and Moderna shots, which have both already won emergency use approvals in the U.S. and have been shown to be about 90 percent effective.
Read the full Reuters report.
