AstraZeneca vaccine could curb COVID-19 transmission

Hopes for COVID-19 vaccines to beat back the pandemic assumed mass-vaccination would slow viral transmission, and not just prevent moderate-to-severe disease. 

Now, early data suggest that AstraZeneca’s (LON:AZN) COVID-19 vaccine, which it jointly developed with Oxford University, can curb viral transmission by up to 67%. 

There was more good news from the data. The ChAdOx1 vaccine offered 100% protection against severe disease in a Phase 3 trial. A single vaccine dose offered 76% efficacy between 22 and 90 days after vaccination. Delaying the second dose of vaccine by 12 weeks appeared to boost efficacy to 82%. Efficacy fell to 55% when the gap between doses dropped to less than six weeks. 

The study concluded that the U.K.’s strategy of aiming to vaccinate a large proportion of the population with the first dose before administering the second vaccine dose up to 12 weeks later is “an effective strategy.” 

Also heartening is the fact that a porti…

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UK SARS-COV-2 variant picks up mutation found in Brazil and South Africa 

This colorized scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 (round blue objects), the virus that causes COVID-19, emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the lab. [Image courtesy of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases]

One of the most troubling mutations among SARS-CoV-2 variants is E484K. Found in the highly transmissible variants in Brazil and South Africa, the mutation may diminish vaccine efficacy and pose a higher risk of reinfection than other virus lineages.

Now, the mutation has appeared spontaneously in Kent, Bristol and Liverpool in the U.K.

The trend is the latest evidence that the E484K mutation provides an evolutionary advantage for the novel coronavirus and that several COVID-19 variants have a similar evolutionary trajectory.

Researchers from South Africa have concluded that the E484K mutation results in a substantial reduction in the efficacy of a…

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Russia reports 91.6% efficacy for its Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine

Sputnik V in vials. Image from Mos.ru via Wikipedia.

The Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine could be more efficacious than those from AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) or Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) based on interim trial results.

The two-dose Sputnik vaccine was 91.6% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and 100% effective at preventing severe and moderate disease in a study involving 19,866 participants.

The data were published in The Lancet. No data, however, was available on the impact of SARS-CoV-2 variants on the vaccine’s efficacy.

By comparison, the single-dose JNJ vaccine was 57% to 72% effective at preventing moderate to severe disease, depending on the geography. The vaccine was least effective in South Africa, where 95% of infections were the result of a more-infectious variant circulating there.

AstraZeneca’s (LON:AZN) two-dose vaccine was between 62% and 90% effective, depen…

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4 ways COVID-19 variants could impact the battle against the pandemic

SARS-CoV-2 electron microscope image from Wikipedia

Highly-transmissible COVID-19 variants have likely been circulating undetected for months in places like the U.K., South Africa and Brazil. They then seemed to burst onto the scene, fueling large outbreaks that dwarfed preceding ones. 

While the variants aren’t well understood, they suggest that SARS-CoV-2 is mutating in ways that confer an evolutionary advantage. They thus threaten to become dominant throughout much of the world in coming months unless protocols such as growing vaccination, mask-wearing and social distancing can slow their spread.

The new variants are also likely to change the fight against COVID-19 in crucial ways. Here are four facts to consider:

1. New variants could delay herd immunity and make vaccinating children more important

After FDA authorized mRNA vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna in late 2020, it seemed t…

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BREAKING: J&J’s Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine study results raise more alarms about new variants

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) announced results from its COVID-19 vaccine trial that show decreased effectiveness against new virus variants.

The vaccine candidate from Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, which was 66% effective overall in preventing moderate to severe COVID-19 28 days after vaccination, proved less effective in South Africa, where a new variant of the virus has appeared, offering just 57% protection from moderate-to-severe infection there (where 95% of cases were due to infection from the variant). The level of protection in the U.S. was 72% and it was 66% in Latin America.

Get the full story at our sister site, Drug Discovery & Development.

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BREAKING: J&J’s Phase 3 COVID-19 vaccine study results raise more alarms about new variants

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) announced results from its COVID-19 vaccine trial that show decreased effectiveness against new virus variants.

The vaccine candidate from Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, which was 66% effective overall in preventing moderate to severe COVID-19 28 days after vaccination, proved less effective in South Africa, where a new variant of the virus has appeared, offering just 57% protection from moderate-to-severe infection there (where 95% of cases were due to infection from the variant). The level of protection in the U.S. was 72% and it was 66% in Latin America.

“These results are a testament to the extraordinary efforts of everyone involved in our COVID-19 vaccine candidate clinical program, and we are extremely grateful to the clinical trial staff and trial participants for their invaluable contributions,” Janssen R&D global head Dr. Mathai Mamment said in a news release. “Changing the trajector…

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Study suggests Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is effective against emerging variants

A Pfizer-BioNTech preprint published today suggests that their BNT162b2 vaccine will be effective against SARS-CoV2 variants from the U.K. and South Africa, leading to “small differences in viral neutralization” compared with earlier variants. 

The U.K variant has been identified in 26 states in the U.S., while the South Africa variant has been found circulating in South Carolina.

The Pfizer and University of Texas Medical Branch scientists conducting the research concluded that modifying the BNT162b2 was unnecessary.

The researchers, however, acknowledged that the study involving engineered viruses did “not include the full set of spike mutations found in the UK or SA variants” and that clinical data are required to better understand the impact of viral mutations on the vaccine.

The Pfizer findings are broadly similar to those from Moderna, whose experiments indicated that its mRNA-1273 vaccine is effective against emerging variants from the U.K.…

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Johnson & Johnson gearing up for COVID-19 vaccine data announcement

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is poised to announce new data related to its Ad26 COVID-19 vaccine early next week. 

In an earnings call yesterday, management hinted that they expect results from the vaccine to be positive but stopped short at revealing details.

“We think it’s very important to follow the data — to follow the science,” said JNJ CEO Alex Gorsky after declining to answer a question related to COVID-19 variants and vaccine efficacy until the official data announcement.

Get the full story from our sister site, Drug Discovery & Development.

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Johnson & Johnson gearing up for COVID-19 vaccine data announcement

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is poised to announce new data related to its Ad26 COVID-19 vaccine early next week. 

In an earnings call yesterday, management hinted that they expect results from the vaccine to be positive but stopped short at revealing details. 

“We think it’s very important to follow the data — to follow the science,” said JNJ CEO Alex Gorsky after declining to answer a question related to COVID-19 variants and vaccine efficacy until the official data announcement.

[Related: Johnson & Johnson pharma sales drive Street-beating Q4 results]

If the company’s adenovirus-based vaccine performs in the same league as those from Moderna (NSDQ:MRNA) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Ad26 could play a vital role in stemming the COVID-19 crisis. Unlike competitors’ vaccines, Ad26 could be offered in a single dose, potentially simplifying mass-vaccination efforts. 

Former Operation Warp Speed chief Moncef Slaoui suggested that Ad26 vaccine…

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Johnson & Johnson vaccine trial results expected soon

Trial results for the COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) are reportedly expected to be released soon.

The Hill reported last week that former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the single-dose vaccine from J&J appears to have a “good profile for a vaccine,” indicating the potential for a third authorized candidate, following those from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.

Additionally, a report from The New York Times said that, as of Jan. 14, results from the trial could be expected in as little as two weeks, although, if approved, immediate production of doses promised to the U.S. government may be hindered by “unanticipated manufacturing delays.”

Get the full story at our sister site, Drug Discovery & Development.

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Johnson & Johnson vaccine trial results expected soon

Trial results for the COVID-19 vaccine candidate developed by Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) are reportedly expected to be released soon.

The Hill reported last week that former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said the single-dose vaccine from J&J subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceutical appears to have a “good profile for a vaccine,” indicating the potential for a third authorized candidate, following those from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.

Additionally, a report from The New York Times said that, as of Jan. 14, results from the trial could be expected in as little as two weeks, although, if approved, immediate production of doses promised to the U.S. government may be hindered by “unanticipated manufacturing delays.”

J&J published interim phase 1/2a data from its vaccine trial in the New England Journal of Medicine last week, with the data demonstrating that the single-dose vaccine candidate provided an immune response that l…

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Norway investigating deaths of 23 individuals who received COVID-19 vaccine

Image from Mark König on Unsplash

In Norway, authorities are investigating the deaths of nearly two dozen people who received the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and BioNTech (NSDQ:BNTX).

To date, it has analyzed data from 13 of those individuals.

The Norwegian Medicines Agency concluded that common adverse reactions to mRNA vaccines, including fever and nausea, could have contributed to deaths in elderly and frail patients.

Get the full story from our sister site, Drug Discovery & Development.

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