AstraZeneca's potential coronavirus vaccine likely to provide protection for a year

On June 16, AstraZeneca's chief executive said that the potential coronavirus vaccine is likely to provide protection against contracting COVID-19 for at least a year while speaking with the state broadcaster. The British drugmaker was already in human trials phase of the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford, with a phase I trial in Britain due to end soon and a phase III trial already begun, Pascal Soriot told broadcaster Bel RTL.  

With a target of manufacturing up to 400 million doses of the potential vaccine, AstraZeneca has signed the contract with France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands to supply the European Union, as per reports. Soriot reportedly said that the vaccine would protect against the disease for a year. Further, the company plans to begin delivering the vaccine to European countries by the end of the year 2020 under the agreement with the Inclusive Vaccine Alliance. Developed by Oxford University, the cost of manufacturing the vaccine is expected to be supported by the UK government’s funding, following approval, AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said in a statement. 

Earlier, this month, the British drugmaker claimed that it secured a fresh deal with companies in the United States to advance the antibody-related coronavirus treatments. While the pharma company did not reveal specific details about the deal, reports suggest it has signed agreements with Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) and Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The new agreements would enable AstraZeneca to double its production from one billion doses to two billion doses.

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Vaccine for low- and middle-income countries

Further, the British company signed deals with Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, and the Serum Institute of India (SII), the world's largest manufacturer of vaccines by volume, to bring the vaccine to low- and middle-income countries to make the vaccine a “public good”.  AstraZeneca ‘s chief executive Pascal Aoriot while speaking to International media reporters said that the need for a vaccine to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic was urgent. He added that he hoped that by the collaboration they could accelerate the spread of the vaccine and protect people from the “deadliest pandemic of the generation” 

Read: Experts Warn COVID-19 Vaccines Might Be Ineffective, Come With 'limitation'

Read: France's Macron Visits Vaccine Research Centre

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