The candidate for the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Johnson & Johnson JNJ,
Subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceutica could receive emergency clearance by British regulators in a few weeks, which would increase the country’s mass vaccination program amid an increase in coronavirus cases.
John Bell, a professor of regative medicine at Oxford University and advisor to the UK vaccine in the UK, told the Daily Telegraph: “My prediction is that it will work well, although we have to wait for the results of the essay “.
He added: “I think they will have supplies available for the UK within a timeframe that will only achieve the mid-February target of raising numbers. I think it can have a material impact on what we can do in the UK to vaccinate. more people “.
Opinion: The vaccine is unlikely to stop the COVID pandemic this year
A Janssen spokesman said it would be premature for the company to comment on its vaccine production until it receives the results of its ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial, which is expected later this month.
“Janssen will continue to work closely with the MHRA [Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency] to complete the ongoing review process for a national marketing authorization application in the UK and is committed to providing the public with an affordable, non-profit COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in pandemics. ” , the spokesman added.
If the data indicate that the vaccine is safe and effective, J&J expects to file an application for emergency use authorization with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in February.
The UK government has ordered 30 million doses of the Janssen vaccine, with the option to buy 22 million more. The vaccine candidate is a single-dose vaccine, unlike those developed by Modern MRNA Biotechnology,
and the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer PFE,
and its German partner BioNTech BNTX,
It can also be stored and transported safely at the standard refrigerator temperature, while the Pfizer – BioNTech vaccine requires storage at less than 70 ° C.
If the Janssen vaccine candidate is authorized by UK regulators, it would become the third vaccine to be rolled out in scale in the country after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and the one developed by the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca AZN,
with the University of Oxford, and would help accelerate the drive to massively vaccinate the public.
According to the government, more than 1.3 million people in the UK have already received a vaccine from the Pfizer – BioNTech vaccine or the AstraZeneca – Oxford vaccine. It wants to vaccinate 13 million of the UK’s most vulnerable people by mid-February, a target that the English chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, has described as “realistic but not easy”.
Read: The UK becomes the first country to launch the AstraZeneca – Oxford vaccine, as closures will be imminent
Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Wednesday that there was now a race “to vaccinate the vulnerable as quickly as the virus can reach them”.
“Every needle in each arm makes a difference,” Johnson told lawmakers.
Another 1,041 people had died in the 28 days following the positive coronavirus test as of Wednesday, according to government data.
In a new attempt to increase the momentum for mass vaccination, some general practice surgeries will be allowed to administer the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine starting Thursday, the National Health Service said.
There will be seven vaccination centers among many other sites that will go online next week, along with more hospitals, GP-led services and various pharmacy pilot vaccine services, the NHS added.
Read: Fauci said the U.S. will not extend the range between vaccine doses
Last week, the MHRA, the Joint Vaccination and Vaccination Committee and four top UK medical officers agreed to delay the gap between the first and second doses of vaccines, to try to protect as many people as possible in the shortest possible time. .