Ursula von der Leyen has said that the EU has decided not to compromise on safety as she defends the slower pace of approval of Covid-19 shots in the bloc.
Asked about the suggestion that Britain had compromised on safety and efficacy standards, MHRA chief executive“I think our position is very clear in terms of the rigorous science that MHRA pursues in the interests of public confidence, public safety, and the effectiveness of these important vaccines,” she said.Meanwhile, new research has suggested the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine is effective at fighting the new Covid-19 variant first discovered in the UK late last year.
Oxford researchers who developed the vaccine say the jab has a similar efficacy against the variant, compared with the original strain of Covid-19 against which it was tested. Experts had been concerned about whether or not the vaccines currently being administered throughout the UK would be effective against the strain, which emerged after vaccine trials had been conducted.
The preprint also describes analysis which suggests vaccination with the AstraZeneca jab results in a reduction in the duration of shedding and viral load, which may translate into a reduced transmission of the disease. Andrew Pollard, professor of paediatric infection and immunity, and chief investigator on the Oxford vaccine trial, said: “Data from our trials of the ChAdOx1 vaccine in the United Kingdom indicate that the vaccine not only protects against the original pandemic virus, but also protects against the novel variant, B117, which caused the surge in disease from the end of 2020 across the UK.