RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The World Health Organization (W.H.O.) said on Friday that the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine, produced by Oxford University in partnership with the AstraZeneca laboratory, is the “most advanced” in the world “in terms of development” and leads the race for an immunizer against Covid-19. The formula is being tested in Brazil and South Africa following successful trials in the UK.
Soumya Swaminathan, the organization’s chief scientist, said that the research by the American firm Moderna is also “not far behind” the work of AstraZeneca.
Over 200 candidate vaccines against the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus are being tested worldwide, of which 15 have already reached their clinical stages. The W.H.O. has also stated that it is in contact with several Chinese manufacturers to monitor the development of their work.
Swaminathan also urged that coôperation be considered between the trials with potential vaccines against Covid-19, similar to the solidarity trials that the W.H.O. has been conducting with possible medications to treat the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
According to the Geneva-based organization, US$31.3 billion (about R$161 billion) will be needed to develop tests, vaccines, and treatments for Covid-19.
The funds are expected to enable the development and distribution of 500 million tests and 245 million treatments in low- and middle-income countries by mid-2021 and two billion doses of vaccine worldwide, half of which will be in low- and middle-income countries by the end of 2021.
The United Nations health arm works with a large coalition of organizations for drug development, financing, and distribution, called “ACT-Accelerator Hub”. However, the W.H.O. states that only US$3.4 billion (R$18.6 billion) have been secured. To this end, an additional US$27.9 billion (R$152.8 billion) would still be required, of which US$13.7 billion (R$75 billion) is urgent “to cover immediate needs,” the W.H.O. said.
“It is a worthwhile investment. If we don’t act now, the human costs and economic repercussions will worsen,” Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, special envoy for the international initiative, said during a virtual press conference. “Although these numbers seem important, they are not when we consider the alternative. If we spend billions now, we can avoid spending billions later. We need to act now and together.”
W.H.O. Executive Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed the importance of speeding up procedures to stop the pandemic.
“It is clear that to control Covid-19 and save lives, we need effective vaccines, diagnostics, and therapies, in unprecedented volumes and at unprecedented speed,” said Adhanom. “And it is clear that since everyone can be affected by Covid-19, everyone must have access to all prevention, detection and treatment tools, not only those who can afford them.”
Brazil
Tests on Brazilian volunteers for the vaccine developed by Oxford University in England against Covid-19, began last week at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP). The information was released in a note last Monday evening by the Lemann Foundation, which funds the project.
Testing of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine in Brazil was announced earlier this month and is expected to involve 2,000 volunteers in São Paulo and another 1,000 in Rio de Janeiro, where they will be conducted by the D’Or Hospital Network, according to UNIFESP. The results should be completed by September, according to AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical company conducting the vaccine development in partnership with Oxford.
“Last weekend (June 20th and 21st), the Lemann Foundation had the opportunity to celebrate with the partners involved and experts in charge, the beginning of testing in São Paulo for the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine, led globally by the University of Oxford,” reported the Lemann Foundation, of billionaire businessman Jorge Paulo Lemann. The Foundation intends to build a manufacturing plant for the Covid-19 vaccine in the country.
Another vaccine against Covid-19, developed by the Chinese company Sinovac, is expected to start being tested in Brazil next month, in partnership with the Butantan Institute, linked to the government of the State of São Paulo.
This trial, according to the institute, will be financed by the São Paulo government and should involve 9,000 volunteers. In case the vaccine is successful, the agreement provides for local production by the Butantan institute.
Double dose
AstraZeneca reported last Tuesday that testing in the United Kingdom showed that a double dose of the vaccine produced a better immune response in pigs. The results were released by the Pirbright Institute (United Kingdom). The finding suggests that the approach may be more effective in immunizing against the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus, but the British organization considered that the level of immunological response required to protect humans is still unclear.
“The results seem encouraging as they suggest that two injections enhance the antibody responses capable of neutralizing the virus. But it is the response in humans that matters,” said Bryan Charleston, director of the Pirbright Institute.
Source: O Globo