UK Prime Minister Confident in COVID-19 Vaccines

An original version of this article was published by sister publication Contagion.

At least 1 government leader is confident the existing stable of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines will be protective against some of the newer variants spreading throughout the world.

Boris Johnson, the UK’s Prime Minister, recently stated that he is very confident in all of the COVID-19 vaccines that the government has approved thus far. As of February 7, the country has seen 15,845 daily cases and 12.01 million of its citizens have been administered at least 1 dose, according to data from the University of Oxford.

Over the weekend, AstraZeneca was removed from the vaccination program in South Africa due to data that showed the two-dose adenovirus vaccine was not significantly effective against the 501Y.V2 variant.

The decision was made by the country’s health officials during a time when the novel strain, which seems to be more transmissible, is spreading across the globe.

After investigators determined that the vaccine was linked to only a 22% lowered risk of mild-to-moderate COVID-19, it was decided the rollout should be paused for the time being.

In other news, Janssen Biotech submitted an application for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week for its investigational single-dose COVID-19 vaccine.

The submission follows data that reported a 72% efficacy 28 days after administration. The vaccine will be considered on the strength of submitted data in a scheduled hearing from the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biologics Product Advisory Committee (VRBPAC) on Friday, February 26.

Data Table per Our World in Data (Feb 8, 2021, 12 AM EST)

After cases in the US peaked last month post-holidays, they have steadily begun to decline. However, experts don’t believe this trend will continue with other variants spreading through the country.

Data Table per CDC COVID-19 Tracker (Feb 7, 2021, 6 AM EST)

For more information on COVID-19 vaccination research, distribution, and assessment, check out some of these recent Contagion stories:

FDA Updates its EUA for Convalescent Plasma

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