By John Stone This is a follow on to a UK Column Report last week with excellent analysis by retired nurse Debi Evans and News anchor Brian Gerrish which focused on the board meeting of the MHRA of Tuesday June.
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Coronavirus | Challenges in developing, testing vaccines against variants
Updated:
Updated:
February 20, 2021 21:33 IST
It is highly unlikely that we will be repeating phase-3 studies for every new vaccine based on a variant strain, but we do need alternative regulatory pathways, says Gagandeep Kang.
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It is highly unlikely that we will be repeating phase-3 studies for every new vaccine based on a variant strain, but we do need alternative regulatory pathways, says Gagandeep Kang.
With the emergence of three variants B.1.1.7 first found in Britain, B.1.1.248 first seen in Brazil, and B.1.351 first detected in South Africa less than two months after the first COVID-19 vaccine was approved for emergency use by the U.S. FDA, all companies have begun making booster shots or tweaking the existing vaccine based on the new variants.
Denmark and Norway have become the latest European countries to recommend people aged over 65 should avoid the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine.
Medical regulators in both countries said more evidence about the vaccine s effectiveness among older people is needed before it can be safely recommended to them.
Germany, France and Sweden have also discouraged people aged over 65 from taking the jab, while Switzerland has refused to approve it, saying new studies are needed.
It comes after a mighty row between the EU and AstraZeneca over the supply of jabs, and despite the fact that Oxford scientists who developed the vaccine and UK PM Boris Johnson have dismissed concerns about its safety.