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The UK government have announced* that they have made in-principle agreements to buy 60 million doses of Novavax COVID-19 vaccine and 30 million doses of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine. They have also announced that they will be supporting clinical trials of these vaccines.
Prof Stephen Evans, Professor of Pharmacoepidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said:
“It is definitely good news that the UK government is supporting randomised trials of vaccines, both in the UK and globally. At this stage of development of the leading vaccines it is the large-scale randomised trials which will show which, if any, vaccines work in a clinical setting by preventing Covid-19 without causing even fairly rare adverse effects. This requires large numbers to be studied where the virus is still causing the disease. The rate of new infections in the UK is low at the moment, which is good news for us as patients but bad news for the trials. It means that the convincing evidence will have to be found in other countries, unless the UK has a major resurgence of infections.
“The government has a duty towards its citizens and making arrangements to manufacture vaccines in the UK will be useful, especially as our access to EU-manufactured vaccines will be less certain in 2021. Many vaccines currently in use have not been produced in the UK.
“It is also good that it is said that “The UK welcomes Janssen’s vaccine being made available on a not-for-profit basis during the emergency pandemic to both the UK and the rest of the world to ensure the global supply and equitable access of a vaccine”. It has been a principle of the Gates Foundation and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations that affordable vaccine availability is global – poorer nations must also receive vaccines, on moral values, but also because the virus cannot be suppressed globally without global vaccine coverage.
“The investment in agreeing to pay for vaccines which are not yet proven to be effective and not cause serious harm is courageous. It is a better investment than some that have been made for ineffective PPE. We need to be reassured that the pharmaceutical companies, in having some of the financial risks involved a developing a vaccine moved on to government, do not then, in the event a vaccine works, keep all the profits for themselves. The ‘not-for-profit basis’ espoused by Janssen is really good. Seeing this actually happen would be a good way to restore some trust in the pharmaceutical industry.
“What would be very sad is that all this effort may be undermined if substantial numbers of people do not accept being vaccinated. Trust in government and industry is low, but it is possible that a successful vaccine may show that medical science itself is to be trusted at the very least.”
Alex Harris, Wellcome’s Head of Global Policy, said:
“Today’s announcement puts the UK in a strong position. It is great to hear Alok Sharma say that these agreements will ensure fair and equitable access of a vaccine around the world, but it is now urgent that the government explains how.
“Without this clarity, the risk increases that other rich countries will seek to strike similar bilateral deals, potentially securing oversupply, leaving insufficient volumes of vaccine for the rest of the world.
“Spreading risk by investing in a range of vaccines that use diverse technologies is smart, because we do not yet know which might be successful or the most effective, and not all vaccines will be suitable for all who are at risk. But efforts to do this must be global, countries should only buy doses for those in greatest need – healthcare and essential workers and those at highest risk. Where there is oversupply there must be willingness to donate surplus doses to a central pool. Countries cannot, and do not at this stage need to, buy for every citizen.
“The UK has a proud record of supporting global public health. The government must take the global lead to ensure any advances to test, treat and prevent Covid-19 are available for all nations, rich and poor, alike. It’s not only the right thing to do, it’s in our best interest. Unless every country has access to Covid-19 vaccines & treatments the whole world is at risk.”
All our previous output on this subject can be seen at this weblink:
www.sciencemediacentre.org/tag/covid-19
Declared interests
Prof Stephen Evans: “No conflicts of interest in relation to this. I am funded (1 day/week) by LSHTM. They get funding from various companies, including Astra Zeneca and GSK but I am not funded by them, I have no involvement in obtaining funding from them and I am not an investigator or any grants obtained from them. I am the statistician to the “meta-Data Safety and Monitoring Board” for CEPI. I am paid for my attendance at meetings and any expenses for travel. I am a participant in the ”Oxford” trial as a member of the public with no professional involvement.”
None others received.