RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – All 2,000 volunteers selected in São Paulo to be administered the Covid-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University have already been given the first dose of the drug in phase III of trials.
In the city, the research is coordinated by the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP). The global development of the drug is also under the responsibility of AstraZeneca Pharmaceutical Company.
The administration of the initial doses was completed during the month of August and the second dose has started to be distributed, in an expedited process. “It is well underway, we have already performed blood tests.”
“The results of these tests will be computed in a system accessed by Oxford specialists, who are responsible for developing the statistics required for the study,” says Soraya Smaili, Dean of UNIFESP.
“We now have to wait a little longer for all the tests to be done. The goal is to determine if the antibodies will last.” The expert pointed out that the second round of vaccines works as a type of “booster” for the first dose, the most important one.
All participants of the São Paulo stage of the study are well and did not present serious adverse symptoms after vaccination.
One of the reasons for choosing Brazil to run the vaccine trials were the disease’s epidemiological rates, which were high at the time the international cooperation was announced.
The current scenario, fortunately, no longer points to a sharp growth in infections in Brazil. On Friday, September 4th, the country reached a rolling seven-day average of 41,000 new cases and 857 deaths.
This is based on the notifications of the past seven days divided by seven, which offsets the traditional underreporting on weekends when the Health Secretariats work in shifts.
Rio de Janeiro and Bahia
In Rio de Janeiro, approximately 87 percent of the 1,500 volunteers have already received the first dose and 27 percent have been given the second dose. This study is coordinated by the D’or Research and Teaching Institute.
The forecast for the closing of all doses is still in October of this year. The same institute is in charge of testing 2,500 volunteers in Salvador, Bahia – the location saw a considerable increase in volunteer recruitment after a decision by the British university.
In the region, 42 percent of volunteers have already been administered the initial dose and another 16 percent have been given the second shot. The testing process is expected to be completed in November. Should they present any typical symptom of Covid-19, the volunteers will undergo an RT-PCR type test.
Once the vaccine’s efficacy is confirmed, it will also be produced in Brazil, with the involvement of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) laboratories in Rio de Janeiro.
Source: Veja