Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
New Data Released On AstraZeneca's Vaccine 'Booster' Dosing Regimen
Reuters: Early Data Show Two Doses Of Oxford/AstraZeneca Vaccine Provoked Good Immune Response
Oxford University’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate has a better immune response when a two full-dose regime is used rather than a full-dose followed by a half-dose booster, the university said on Thursday, citing data from early trials. The developers of the vaccine candidate, which has been licensed to pharmaceuticals company AstraZeneca, have already published later stage trial results showing higher efficacy when a half dose is followed by a full dose, compared to a two full-dose regime. However, more work needs to be done to affirm that result. (12/17)
Fox News: Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine's 2-Dose Regimen Elicits ‘Broad’ Immune Response
"The booster doses of the vaccine are both shown to induce stronger antibody responses than a single dose, with the standard dose / standard dose inducing the best response," reads the university release. Results published in The Lancet last week suggested the shot was safe and approximately 70% effective, though an earlier mix-up led some participants to get a half-dose followed by a full dose, instead of two full doses as intended. As a result of the mistake, preliminary findings showed with a half dose/full-dose regimen had 90% efficacy and two full doses showed 62% efficacy. (Rivas, 12/17)
The New York Times: How The Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccine Works
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is based on the virus’s genetic instructions for building the spike protein. But unlike the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, which store the instructions in single-stranded RNA, the Oxford vaccine uses double-stranded DNA. (Corum and Zimmer, 12/17)
In case you missed it —
The Guardian: Oxford Covid Vaccine To Be Combined With Sputnik Jab For Trial
UK and Russian scientists are to test whether combining shots of the Oxford/AstraZeneca and Sputnik V coronavirus vaccines could result in better protection than two doses of the same one. Trials will start by the end of the year, the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), which funded the development of the Sputnik V vaccine by Russia’s Gamaleya Institute, said on Friday. AstraZeneca confirmed that it was considering how it could assess combinations of different vaccines, and would soon begin exploring with the Gamaleya Institute whether their two vaccines could be successfully combined. (Geddes, 12/11)
The Washington Post: Vaccine Makers AstraZeneca And Russia's Sputnik V Lab Join Forces To Seek Advances
The research is aimed at testing new vaccine formulas using cold viruses, said a statement by the Anglo-Swedish AstraZeneca, which could work in tandem with Russia’s Gamaleya National Center of Epidemiology and Microbiology, whose Sputnik V uses two injections based on vectors of the common-cold virus, or adenovirus. The AstraZeneca vaccine, created with the University of Oxford, uses a cold virus that typically infects chimpanzees. That teaches the human immune system to block the novel coronavirus. (Dixon and Noack, 12/11)
And in news from Johnson & Johnson —
Reuters: J&J Enrolls About 45,000 Participants For Late-Stage COVID-19 Vaccine Trial
Johnson & Johnson said on Thursday it has enrolled about 45,000 participants for the first late-stage trial of its COVID-19 single-dose vaccine candidate and that it expects interim data by late-January. ... J&J also said it plans to submit an emergency use authorization application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in February if the data from the study is safe and effective. (12/17)
CNN: Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine trial is now fully enrolled
Johnson & Johnson said Thursday that its late stage Covid-19 vaccine trial is fully enrolled. The vaccine, made by J&J subsidiary Janssen, comes in a single dose. The trial now has about 45,000 participants. The company said with the high rate of disease transmission among the general population in the United States, this number of volunteers should be enough to quickly get the data the company needs to determine if the vaccine works and to determine if it is safe. (Christensen, 12/17)
AZFamily.com: Video: Phoenix Man Describes Being In Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Trial
A Phoenix man provided insight into a COVID-19 vaccine trial involving Johnson & Johnson where only one dose is required. (12/17)
