The developers of a COVID-19 vaccine in Britain yesterday claimed success after mass testing, as the US announced plans to give jabs to 20 million people before the end of the year to combat surging infections.
AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford said their drug had proved on average 70 percent effective at stopping the virus after trying it on 23,000 people, days after tests of two other drugs suggested they had more than 90 percent effectiveness.
The bright news on vaccines comes as Europe and the Americas battle rising caseloads that are pushing health systems to the brink, forcing governments to issue stay-at-home orders and close businesses even as the crucial Christmas period approaches.
Canada’s biggest city, Toronto, shut down late yesterday, as officials banned private indoor gatherings and limited the size of weddings and funerals — similar to measures in place in France and other European nations.
At the other end of the confinement cycle, Australia’s second-largest city, Melbourne, continued to emerge from a four-month lockdown, with authorities lifting a ban on travel across state borders.
“When I went across the border I beeped the horn, ‘Yahoo,’” Melbourne resident Margaret Forster said after being allowed to drive from Victoria into New South Wales for the first time since June.
The virus has killed almost 1.4 million people worldwide since emerging in China late last year.
The latest vaccine results are particularly important as the Oxford drug can be transported easily at normal refrigerator temperatures — unlike some of the other candidates, which need extremely cold storage.
AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot said despite the vaccine’s lower effectiveness compared with the other candidate drugs, it would still be highly effective and would have an “immediate impact.”
The firm said it planned to develop up to 3 billion doses of the vaccine next year if it passes the remaining regulatory hurdles.
Two other leading candidates — one by Pfizer and German partner BioNTech and another by US firm Moderna — reported 95 percent effectiveness in trials.
The EU said it could approve vaccines for use by the end of the year, following a statement from US officials that a vaccination program could be started as soon as next month.
“Our plan is to be able to ship vaccines to the immunization sites within 24 hours of approval,” said Moncef Slaoui, head of the vaccine effort in the US, still the world’s worst-hit nation with more than 12 million infections and 255,000 deaths.
The US government’s vaccine advisers are to meet on Dec. 10 to discuss approval.
Slaoui estimated that 20 million people across the US could be vaccinated next month, with 30 million per month after that.
Other experts stressed that Americans must continue to take precautions as many headed to airports to travel for this week’s Thanksgiving holiday.
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‘EXTREME PRESSURE’: Beijing’s goal is to ‘force Taiwan to make mistakes,’ Admiral Tang Hua said, adding that mishaps could serve as ‘excuses’ for launching a blockade China’s authoritarian expansionism threatens not only Taiwan, but the rules-based international order, the navy said yesterday, after its top commander said in an interview that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could blockade the nation at will. The object of Beijing’s expansionist activities is not limited to Taiwan and its use of pressure is not confined to specific political groups or people, the navy said in a statement. China utilizes a mixture of cognitive warfare and “gray zone” military activities to pressure Taiwan, the navy said, adding that PLA sea and air forces are compressing the nation’s defensive depth. The navy continues to
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