{"id":120997,"date":"2020-12-11T06:07:56","date_gmt":"2020-12-11T10:07:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=120997"},"modified":"2020-12-11T08:52:18","modified_gmt":"2020-12-11T12:52:18","slug":"antigua-barbuda-to-get-oxford-vaccine-under-covacs-arrangement-pfizer-and-moderna-not-included","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/antigua-barbuda-to-get-oxford-vaccine-under-covacs-arrangement-pfizer-and-moderna-not-included\/","title":{"rendered":"Antigua & Barbuda to get Oxford Vaccine under COVACS arrangement, Pfizer and Moderna not included"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Cabinet Notes: <\/strong>The Minister of Health gave an update on the successes of Covid-19 treatment in Antigua and Barbuda.<\/p>

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The number of active cases remains in single digits at 4.<\/p>\n

The Cabinet advises that the population is to continue to exercise vigilance, wearing masks, practicing social-distancing, and sanitizing hands as frequently as reasonable.<\/p>

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There is to be no relaxation of the vigilance that has kept the numbers low, the Cabinet agreed.<\/p>

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The Cabinet was informed that the PAHO list of vaccines, which will be made available to the participating COVACS members, does not include the Pfizer vaccine nor does it include the Moderna vaccine; the Oxford vaccine is included.<\/p>\n

Antigua and Barbuda is a participating COVACS member.<\/p>

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AstraZeneca<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>said on Monday that its Covid-19 vaccine candidate, which is being developed with the University of Oxford, was found to be as much as 90% effective in preventing infections, according to data from a late-stage clinical trial in the U.K. and Brazil.<\/p>\n

Interim analysis from the Phase 3 vaccine trial found that the experimental shot is\u00a090% effective<\/a>\u00a0when administered as a half dose followed by a full dose one month later. Another dosing regimen showed 62% efficacy when given as two full doses at least one month apart.<\/p>

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The combined analysis from both dosing regimens showed an average efficacy of 70.4%, said the University of Oxford and drugmaker AstraZeneca.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese findings show that we have an effective vaccine that will save many lives,\u201d said Andrew Pollard, chief investigator of the Oxford Vaccine Trial, in a\u00a0statement<\/a>. \u201cExcitingly, we\u2019ve found that one of our dosing regimens may be around 90% effective and if this dosing regime is used, more people could be vaccinated with planned vaccine supply,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

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AstraZeneca\u2019s news comes days after drugmaker\u00a0Pfizer<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>and its German partner\u00a0BioNTech<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>requested emergency-use authorization<\/a>\u00a0of their Covid-19 vaccine candidate, shown to be 95% effective, in the U.S.<\/p>\n

Moderna<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>has said that its vaccine candidate is\u00a094.5%<\/a>\u00a0effective and that the biotech company is also expected to apply for emergency-use authorization shortly.<\/p>\n

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However, AstraZeneca\u2019s vaccine can be stored at normal refrigeration temperatures, not needing the supercool storage the Pfizer vaccine requires.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is hugely significant from a logistics point of view that storage can be achieved at a normal refrigeration temperature of around -3 degrees. This makes it much more scalable and as such easier to deliver on a global scale,\u201d said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets U.K.<\/p>\n

AstraZeneca said there were\u00a0no serious safety events<\/a>\u00a0related to the vaccine and it was well tolerated across both dosing regimens. Late-stage clinical trials of the vaccine are continuing in the U.S.<\/p>\n

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