More Vaccine data (this time from Moderna)

[TheWhalrus]

Hi Folks,

Moderna just announced an interim analysis of their results. Looks like quite similar performance to the BioNTech vaccine (and this involves a similar approach, so not too surprising in that respect). Moderna are also saying this vaccine is more stable at fridge temperatures.

Link: www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-vaccines-moderna-i/instant-view-moderna-says-its-vaccine-is-94-5-effective-in-preventing-covid-19-idUSKBN27W1FD?il=0

[TheWhalrus]

Adding to my previous post, this trial also had 11 cases of severe COVID-19 in the placebo group vs none in the vaccine group - I think this is the first evidence of protection against severe COVID-19.

[Sunshinegirl82]

This is great news. I'm hoping it's indicative of Covid being relatively easy to vaccinate against which would obviously be a hugely positive development!

I've got everything crossed for the Oxford vaccine now!

[Redolent]

Good news in that it can be stored at normal freezer temperatures for 6 months (unlike Pfizer), and doesn’t require dilution at point of delivery.

It does remain the most expensive vaccine (about 10x more expensive per person than the Oxford one).

[cathyandclare]

Really hoping for good news from Oxford in the next week or so

[Rosehip10]

Ah, yes, the Moderna vaccine which Kate Bingham decided wasn't worth are pre-oders.

[TheWhalrus]

To clarify, I think the CEO of BioNTech said their vaccine will likely be stable in a normal freezer also, I think this was never tested, hence they've played it safe. He also said they know their vaccine is stable for five days when stored in a fridge (which should make a big difference to logistics).

I agree, this is one of the more expensive vaccines of the candidates. That said, personally i'd be fine paying the 50-60 dollars for both shots - i'd deem this money well spent for the peace of mind that i'd be a lot less likely to get COVID (and it would theoretically mean someone who can't afford that could get the cheaper one)

See here www.ft.com/content/80f20d71-d7eb-4386-b0f2-0b19e4aed94d for price reference.

[JuliaJohnston]

It's great news, but it's being reported that Britain hasn't actually managed to procure any? 🤦‍♀️

[herecomesthsun]

50-60 dollars would be a bargain if it's effective! and available soon.

[Smallwhiterat]

There’s a lot of vaccines being developed, the U.K. cannot expect to have signed deals for all of them! It’s far too early to start criticising which vaccines we do and don’t have deals for.

[GoldenOmber]

@JuliaJohnston

It's great news, but it's being reported that Britain hasn't actually managed to procure any? 🤦‍♀️

No, UK haven’t bought any doses of this one.

Honestly though I don’t think that’ll be a big issue. UK have bought a lot of doses of the Oxford vaccine, which will probably be reporting its own results soon and could possibly be licensed sooner (it’s already in ‘rolling review’ with MHRA and European Medicines Agency). And if these two vaccines work very well, it’s increasingly likely that one will too.

The more vaccines for the whole world the better though! Can’t believe they’re proving so effective, it’s just brilliant news.

[sashagabadon]

@Sunshinegirl82

This is great news. I'm hoping it's indicative of Covid being relatively easy to vaccinate against which would obviously be a hugely positive development!

I've got everything crossed for the Oxford vaccine now!

It really does feel this way which is great news for all the other vaccines and raises the chances of quite a few of them doing the job and vaccinated the world quicker. It is an expensive one though - £38 dollars per dose and 2 required. I assume the cost is so high as it is more experimental so higher R&D costs?

[sashagabadon]

I also think it’s good that the U.K. hasn’t bought up everything, we need to leave supplies for other countries too. We need as much of the world vaccinated as poss!

[Frazzled2207]

According to Twitter we are now in the process of ordering some Moderna.
I hope there is good news from AZ/Oxford soon as that looks to be one of the cheapest and most practical. In the meantime there will hopefully be some doses of Pfizer very soon.
I am taking part in the novavax trial- UK has also ordered these though i think eyes will be on this for vaccinating general population some point later in 2021.

[Frazzled2207]

Ps our doctor running the local novavax trial is very confident that 5 or 6 will be approved and in production by the spring

[Cornettoninja]

It’s great news about this vaccine and others. It seems really positive that there are ways to get over this.

I would point out that the UK took a punt (like every other country) on a few vaccines with the understanding that none of them were guaranteed to make it to distribution stage. This is what every government has done and what people are talking about when they say lots of money has been thrown at developing a vaccine. It’s unprecedented for governments to pay so much for a vaccine that’s not even fully developed.

We might not be first in line for what emerges to be the best, but that will come. It’s certainly not a failing of the government that they haven’t secured any doses of this particular vaccine yet.

[TheWhalrus]

@sashagabadon: i'd say this vaccine is no more expensive than the others. I'd say this is more expensive because health-care in the US is generally more expensive. ie companies are used to being able to charge a high price for their products. Still, this is nothing compared to some novel cancer drugs: some of those come in at 15,000 dollars per month in the US.

[TheWhalrus]

correction to the above - no more expensive to develop

[Qasd]

To be fair we were going for a diverse vaccine profile (sensible approach!), so having procured one rna vaccine (biotech) it made sense to look for others (not imperial are also trying an rna vaccine). I think this approach was actually pretty sensible given we didn’t know what works, as the others such as Oxford come through we will have a better idea of what a final good portfolio of vaccines would be but I think critics for not procuring Moderna at this stage is unfair. It would have been wrong to not procure any rna vaccine but we didn’t do that!

[TheWhalrus]

@qasd I agree with what you're saying here. The UK's profile is already sufficiently diverse. Plus if I had to pick any one vaccine that I would expect to work (before the efficacy data were released) it would be Oxford/Astrazeneca. They also have the most complete safety data published so far (1,000 patients) versus about 200 each for BioNTech and Moderna. And Oxford/Astrazeneca is being made in the UK, hence risks of Brexit-related logistical issues are minimized.

[Mindymomo]

According to Matt Hancock we have now ordered 50 million of these for delivery in Spring.

[MarshaBradyo]

@Mindymomo

According to Matt Hancock we have now ordered 50 million of these for delivery in Spring.

That’s great

Also agree with Qasd

[herecomesthsun]

I thought it was 5 million moderna and 355 million vaccine shots in total (I might be wrong though)

[Delatron]

In the news it said 5 million Moderna but these won’t arrive until Spring. 50 million of Oxford vaccine though. So all eyes on that one.