1. It’s been a busy year for AstraZeneca – tell us about your vaccine commitment. How did it come about and what are your plans?
Recognising the urgent need for an effective COVID-19 vaccine to help defeat the virus, we joined forces with the University of Oxford in April 2020 to make a meaningful difference to the course of the pandemic and help save lives. This landmark partnership brought together Oxford University’s world-class expertise in vaccinology with AstraZeneca’s global development and manufacturing capabilities. Together we committed to providing the vaccine broadly and equitably around the world, at no profit during the pandemic period.
To help meet global demand for a COVID-19 vaccine, AstraZeneca rapidly conducted due diligence with more than 60 potential partners to ultimately build a global supply network of more than 25 proven manufacturing organisations in 15 countries with the capability and capacity to supply the vaccine.
AstraZeneca partnered with capable and established organisations in countries which have large-scale manufacturing capacity to ensure that the vaccine could be manufactured at scale and reach people in need as quickly as possible.
AstraZeneca and its partners have now supplied more than one billion doses of COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca to over 170 countries globally. We are incredibly proud of the difference we’ve made. Since the first international launches in early 2021, the vaccine has helped prevent hundreds of thousands of hospitalisations and helped save tens of thousands of lives.1
Collaboration is the key to ending the pandemic, and we are actively working with international organisations, governments, healthcare leaders, industry, and civil society toward that objective.
To this end, I’m very pleased to be working with the government of Lebanon to ensure that we are making a positive impact in the region.
2. How effective is COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca against new variants of COVID-19?
It is well known that viruses can mutate, which can lead to the emergence of new variants over time. This is why scientists worldwide continue to monitor new variants of COVID-19 closely and carefully assess their impact on vaccine effectiveness.
Currently, the World Health Organization recognises four variants that display increased transmission, or virulence, and are considered variants of concern. Our vaccine is effective against WHO-identified variants of concern including the current circulating Beta and Delta variants.2,3
Vaccines remain the most cost-effective protection against COVID-19 and are a good tool to help defeat the pandemic and help save lives.The WHO, and other international bodies, have all stated that the benefits of vaccination with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca continue to outweigh any potential risks.[i]
3. We have heard some cases of deaths after people have taken the AstraZeneca Vaccine. Can you elaborate more on the recent studies around safety of the COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca? Should people be worried about safety concerns with the AstraZeneca Vaccine?
The vaccine has been shown to have a favourable reactogenicity and general safety profile. Incidents of an extremely rare blood disorder, thrombosis with thrombocytopenia (TTS) have been reported in a small number of people who have received the vaccine within 14 days of the first dose (8.1 events per million vaccinated) which reduced to rates expected in the general population after the second dose (2.3 events per million vaccinated).4 The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the United Nations recommendations state that TTS in these patients are treatable.5,6,7,8
In addition, according to data from three large, real-world studies with over 4.5 million individuals from the UK9 and Spain10,11 COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca and mRNA COVID-19 vaccines showed similar safety profiles. Rates of rare blood clotting events after the first dose with COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca were in line with what would be expected in the general population and lower than in those diagnosed with COVID-19.10,11 Rates of venous thromboembolism were six11 to eight9 times higher after a diagnosis of COVID-19 infection compared with the expected rate.
In clinical trials with up to 60,000 people, the vaccine has been shown to be well tolerated and effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19, with no severe cases and no hospitalisations more than 14 days after the first dose:
· A good level of protection is given following the first dose with exploratory analysis showing 73% efficacy, 22 days after a single dose of vaccine.
· Plus, extending the dose interval up to 12 weeks can boost efficacy to around 80%, more than 14 days after the second dose. Increasing the interval between doses could allow many more people to be vaccinated in the first instance.[ii],[iii]
Ensuring the safety of our vaccine is paramount and we are actively working with the regulators and scientific community to understand extremely rare blood clotting events that have been reported, including information to drive early diagnosis and intervention, and appropriate treatment for the condition. COVID-19 has inflicted terrible suffering around the world. To this end, AstraZeneca offers its deepest condolences to the families and friends of all of those who have sadly lost their lives during this pandemic.
4. Can you tell us more about the Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca marathon drive in Lebanon?
The Lebanese government has worked diligently to run a “vaccination marathon” and encourage more people to get vaccinated. The first “COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca marathon” resulted in more than 10,000[iv] people receiving their first dose of the vaccine. More marathons are now being planned across the country as it offers vaccinations without the need for an appointment for residents above 30-years-old.
The vaccine marathon arrived at a crucial moment, and AstraZeneca will continue working with the Ministry of Health and the local authorities to ensure the safe and timely rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in Lebanon.
[i] EMEA report, 29 March 2021: COVID-19 vaccine safety update – Vaxzevria : https://www.ema.europa.eu/en/documents/covid-19-vaccine-safety-update/covid-19-vaccine-safety-update-vaxzevria-previously-covid-19-vaccine-astrazeneca-29-march-2021_en.pdf [Accessed: 24 May 2021]
[ii] AstraZeneca Data on File
[iii] Vasileiou E, Simpson CR, Robertson C, et al. Effectiveness of first dose of COVID-19 vaccines against hospital admissions in Scotland: national prospective cohort study of 5.4 million people. [Online]. Available at: https://www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files/scotland_firstvaccinedata_preprint.pdf [Last accessed: 24 Feb 2021
[iv] https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/lebanon/thousands-take-part-in-lebanon-s-vaccination-marathon-1.1231860