Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine approved in UK

The jab, which has been described as a “game changer”, was given the green light by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the approval is “fantastic news” and confirmed the rollout will begin on January 4, including to care homes.

He told Sky News: “I am now, with this approval this morning, highly confident that we can get enough vulnerable people vaccinated by the spring that we can now see the route out of this pandemic.”

He said there would be a difficult few weeks ahead “but we also know that there is a route out of this”.

He added: “The vaccine provides that route out. We have all just got to hold our nerve over the weeks to come.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: “It is truly fantastic news – and a triumph for British science – that the @UniofOxford/@AstraZeneca vaccine has been approved for use.

“We will now move to vaccinate as many people as quickly as possible.”

How has the Oxford Covid vaccine been approved so quickly?

The timetable for developing and approving a Covid vaccine has been condensed due to the coronavirus crisis.

Traditionally vaccine development takes several years and includes various processes, including design and development stages followed by clinical trials – which in themselves need approval before they even begin.

The trials take place in three sequential stages – also known as phases. The research will show whether a vaccine generates antibodies but also protects people from disease. They will also identify any safety issues.

Once the trials are complete, the information gathered by researchers is sent to regulators for review.

This is thoroughly analysed by clinicians and scientists before being approved for widespread use.

Then, after approval from regulators, people can start to receive the vaccine.

The process looks slightly different in the trials for a Covid vaccine.

While the early design and development stages look similar, the clinical trial phases have overlapped – instead of taking place sequentially.

Even though some phases of the clinical trial process have run in parallel rather than one after another, the safety checks have still been the same as they would for any new medicine.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has adopted the phrase “safety is our watchword”.

Regulators have said they will “rigorously assess” the data and evidence submitted on the vaccine’s safety, quality and effectiveness.

And, in most clinical trials, any safety issues are usually identified in the first two to three months – a period which has already lapsed for most vaccine frontrunners.

Who will get it, when and how?

he Government has secured 100 million doses of the Oxford vaccine.

The initial doses of the Oxford jab are due to be dispatched from Germany, with a large proportion then manufactured in the UK.

Like the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, people will need two doses.

There will be four million doses available post authorisation and tens of millions of doses in the first quarter of next year.

A specific schedule is difficult to establish as batches need to be quality approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

There is considerably less uncertainty over the rollout of the Oxford vaccine, with the scene having largely been set earlier in December with the Pfizer/BioNtech jab.

The Oxford vaccine can be stored at fridge temperature for at least six months so it is hoped the logistics of administering it will be easier.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the approval was “fantastic news” and confirmed that the roll out would begin on January 4.

AstraZeneca said was building up a manufacturing capacity of up to 3 billion doses worldwide next year, and aims to supply the UK with millions of doses in the first quarter in 2021.

– Now there are more vaccines, does this mean a wider range of people can be vaccinated?

All of the people at the top of the priority list created by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) have not yet been vaccinated.

Therefore vaccinators will continue to work their way through the list.

It is hoped more people in care homes will be reached with the rollout of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine.

The JCVI’s guidance says the order of priority should be:

1. Older adults in a care home and care home workers

2. All those who are 80 years of age and over and health and social care workers

3. All those who are 75 years of age and over

4. All those who are 70 years of age and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals, excluding pregnant women and those under 18 years of age

5. All those who are 65 years of age and over

6. Individuals aged 16 to 64 years with underlying health conditions

7. All those aged 60 and over

8. All those aged 55 and over

9. All those aged 50 and over