How the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine differs from other shots


Daniel Bardsley
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Latest: Dubai approves Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to fight Covid-19

The Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine will be distributed in the UK beginning early January.

The country’s medicines regulator is set to give the green light this week, reports say.

It comes after several other coronavirus vaccines gained approval in various parts of the world, among them shots from Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Sinopharm. In the UAE, the Pfizer-BioNTech and Sinopharm vaccines are already being used.

Here, we look at the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, how it differs from other vaccines and what could be done to improve it.

How does it work?

The vaccine is given in two doses, 28 days apart.

Researchers extracted genetic instructions for building coronavirus spike proteins – the structures on the outside of the virus that it uses to enter human cells – and inserted them into another virus called an adenovirus. The host adenovirus used in the vaccine is a virus that causes the common cold in chimpanzees.

This adenoviral vector, as it is known once new genetic material is added to an adenovirus, has been altered in the laboratory to ensure it cannot infect people and multiply.

Once it enters human cells, through the vaccine, it causes them to produce harmless coronavirus spike proteins. The body’s immune system reacts against these proteins and that response confers protection against the coronavirus.

Essentially it tricks the body into thinking it has been infected with Covid-19.

Other coronavirus vaccines employ similar technology, including Sputnik V from Moscow’s Gamaleya Institute.

While the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine involves two doses, based on the same chimpanzee adenovirus, Sputnik V uses two genetically engineered human adenoviruses, each given separately.

One benefit of the potential vaccine is that it does not need to be stored at extremely low temperatures. John Cairns / University of Oxford via AP
One benefit of the potential vaccine is that it does not need to be stored at extremely low temperatures. John Cairns / University of Oxford via AP

Why use adenoviruses?

Adenoviruses are seen as good vectors because they are stable. Once injected into people, they are unlikely to undergo genetic changes.

Chimpanzee adenoviruses are particularly good because humans will not have previously been infected by them. This reduces the risk of something known as adenoviral vector immunity: individuals infected with a particular adenovirus in the past may have developed immunity to the vector itself.

In such cases, when the vaccine is injected, the immune system jumps into action against the adenovirus and it cannot produce the proteins it has been genetically engineered to create. If these proteins are not synthesised, a person’s immune system will not react against them to give immunity to whichever disease the vaccine is supposed to prevent.

So the person has immunity to the vaccine vector but not to the disease.

As well as being used in vaccines, adenoviruses are also useful vectors for gene therapy, in which therapeutic genes are delivered into the cells of people with genetic defects.

Who is behind the vaccine and how have they tested it?

A team of University of Oxford scientists completed their design for the vaccine after Chinese researchers released details of the coronavirus genetic material online early this year.

The university teamed up with British-Swedish pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca to develop and distribute the vaccine.

Much of the funding came from the British government, which bought up 100m doses in advance.

Clinical trials involving more than 24,000 people took place in Brazil, South Africa and the UK and manufacturing is taking place in more than 10 countries to ensure, as the university put it in November, “equitable global distribution”.

An Oxford Vaccine Group researcher in a laboratory in Oxford. AP
An Oxford Vaccine Group researcher in a laboratory in Oxford. AP

How effective is this 'winning formula'?

In late-stage clinical trials, the vaccine was, overall, 70.4 per cent effective at preventing people falling ill with Covid-19. This figure averages results from two dosing regimens.

With two standard doses, effectiveness was 62.1 per cent. When people were given half a dose, and then a full dose, efficacy was 90 per cent.

In comments to British media published on Sunday, AstraZeneca’s chief executive, Pascal Soriot, said a “winning formula” had been worked out that would achieve results “up there with everybody else" – a possible reference to other vaccines that are as much as 95 per cent effective.

Mr Soriot also indicated the vaccine was completely effective at preventing severe cases of Covid-19.

Scientists not connected with the vaccine programme have suggested that an initial half-dose results in better protection because it reduces adenoviral vector immunity.

What benefits does the vaccine offer?

The vaccine is relatively cheap, costing about £3 (Dh14.7) per dose. Coronavirus vaccines based on messenger RNA, a type of genetic material, such as the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, are several times more expensive. Another benefit is that it can be stored in a refrigerator and does not require extreme cold temperatures.

“It’s so much easier to store and distribute. Anything you can store at zero and a few degrees above is much easier,” said David Taylor, professor emeritus of pharmaceutical and public health policy at University College London.

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In addition, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is thought to produce fewer allergic reactions than some coronavirus vaccines.

How could it be improved?

Aside from Mr Soriot’s comments that AstraZeneca had found an optimum regimen for the vaccine, this month it was announced that scientists were looking at combining it with Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine to increase efficacy.

The idea is that a person could be given one dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and another dose of one of Sputnik V’s two genetically engineered human adenoviruses.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund, which is behind Sputnik V, said trials would begin by the end of the year.

Using the two vaccines may be better than two doses of the same vaccine because it reduces adenoviral vector immunity.

The winners

Fiction

  • ‘Amreekiya’  by Lena Mahmoud
  •  ‘As Good As True’ by Cheryl Reid

The Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Award

  • ‘Syrian and Lebanese Patricios in Sao Paulo’ by Oswaldo Truzzi;  translated by Ramon J Stern
  • ‘The Sound of Listening’ by Philip Metres

The George Ellenbogen Poetry Award

  • ‘Footnotes in the Order  of Disappearance’ by Fady Joudah

Children/Young Adult

  •  ‘I’ve Loved You Since Forever’ by Hoda Kotb 
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nag%20Ashwin%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPrabhas%2C%20Saswata%20Chatterjee%2C%20Deepika%20Padukone%2C%20Amitabh%20Bachchan%2C%20Shobhana%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%E2%98%85%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer

Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000

Engine 3.6L V6

Transmission: Six-speed automatic

Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm

Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm

Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km

Dates for the diary

To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:

  • September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
  • October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
  • October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
  • November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
  • December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
  • February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
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Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

UAE Falcons

Carly Lewis (captain), Emily Fensome, Kelly Loy, Isabel Affley, Jessica Cronin, Jemma Eley, Jenna Guy, Kate Lewis, Megan Polley, Charlie Preston, Becki Quigley and Sophie Siffre. Deb Jones and Lucia Sdao – coach and assistant coach.

 
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Favourite food: Tabbouleh, greek salad and sushi

Favourite TV show: That 70s Show

Favourite animal: Ferrets, they are smart, sensitive, playful and loving

Favourite holiday destination: Seychelles, my resolution for 2020 is to visit as many spiritual retreats and animal shelters across the world as I can

Name of first pet: Eddy, a Persian cat that showed up at our home

Favourite dog breed: I love them all - if I had to pick Yorkshire terrier for small dogs and St Bernard's for big

The specs

Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8

Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm

Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km

Price: Dh380,000

On sale: now 

The biog

Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents

Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University

As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families

Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog

From: Upper Egypt

Age: 78

Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila

Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace

Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace

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Starring: Jamie Foxx, Angela Bassett, Tina Fey

Directed by: Pete Doctor

Rating: 4 stars

Day 2, stumps

Pakistan 482

Australia 30/0 (13 ov)

Australia trail by 452 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the innings

The Breadwinner

Director: Nora Twomey

Starring: Saara Chaudry,  Soma Chhaya,  Laara Sadiq 

Three stars

'How To Build A Boat'
Jonathan Gornall, Simon & Schuster

KEY%20DATES%20IN%20AMAZON'S%20HISTORY
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Company profile

Date started: January, 2014

Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe

Based: Dubai

Sector: Education technology

Size: Five employees

Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.

Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)