The triumph of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine

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Despite setbacks, the jab has probably saved more lives than any other

It is the latest indignity for a vaccine that is both a national symbol—praised by royalty, hawked around the world by the prime minister, made by the country’s most famous university and biggest listed company—and a source of angst. Astra Zeneca has taken flak for data-presentation issues, delayed deliveries and rare adverse events. The share prices of Moderna and Pfizer have soared since covid-19 struck; AstraZeneca’s is pretty much back where it started .

Yet it was always unlikely to be a big money-spinner. Ministers were happy for it to be sold at a small profit; the University of Oxford, which came up with the vaccine, was not, both for humanitarian reasons and to avoid being “seen to be cashing in on what was inevitably going to be an enormous amount of human suffering”, says Sir John Bell, Regius professor of medicine at the university. A dose sells at less than $4, compared with more than $20 for Pfizer.

But, he adds, there is “little to no” evidence of such adverse events outside the West: “It may be driven by genetics, it may be driven by overreporting, who knows?” Indeed, AstraZeneca’s vaccine is increasingly used elsewhere. Since production surged in September, the countries with the most doses are India , Brazil and Mexico. Covax, which distributes jabs to poor countries, is another beneficiary.

One question is whether there will be another inversion in 2022, with demand failing to meet potential output. In November AstraZeneca said it would start to make a profit on doses, and had signed deals on that basis for 2022, with prices on a sliding scale depending on the wealth of the purchaser . Its two main selling points are cheapness and the logistical advantage that doses do not need to be kept very cold.

 

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