The UK can get tens of millions of the coronavirus or COVID-19 vaccine ready for production by the end of the year, a professor who is overseeing the trials has claimed. Chief investigator of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine trial Professor Andrew Pollard said that he is optimistic about getting approval of the jab by Christmas, as per reports.
He mentioned that his team's excellent work has been done at a record speed adding that the vaccine is on the brink of showing efficacy. This comes as the pharmaceutical company Pfizer made an announcement that its vaccine candidate is over 90 percent effective in preventing coronavirus.
COVID-19 Vaccine in UK
Now professor Pollard has stated that the Oxford vaccine is going to be 10 times cheaper than the one made by Pfizer and easier to deliver and it does not have to be stored at temperatures below -70C. The director of the Oxford Vaccine Group said, "Ours are stored at fridge temperature," as reported by the Sun.
Scientists around the world are racing to find a cure for the deadly disease for the common public to use. Professor Pollard said, "We're optimistic we'll be able to demonstrate efficacy by the end of the year. We have been working tirelessly all year and can't wait to see the results in the months ahead," as reported by the Daily Star.
AstraZeneca is going to deliver the vaccine on a not-for-profit basis, he confirmed. The government has put in an order for 100 million doses of the Oxford vaccine and also ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
Meanwhile, in the coming two weeks it is going to very crucial for the UK in ensuring that England's coronavirus lockdown gets over as planned on December 2, a government scientific adviser has stated. Professor Susan Michie, who is a member of the Government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) urged the people to resist breaking the current rules so that they can spend the festive period with their families. She also mentioned that the announcement of a probable vaccine can lead to complacency with the measures adding that the jab is not going to make any difference to the current wave.
