AS the world was approaching the one-year mark of the global health crisis, news of the impending availability of COVID-19 vaccines to jump-start the country’s vaccination program provided much-needed hope at the start of the Year 2021. Oxford/AstraZeneca was one of the first COVID-19 vaccines to arrive in the country and administered to priority groups.
A new laboratory study performed independently by investigators at the University of Oxford found that a third dose booster of the AstraZeneca vaccine significantly increased levels of antibodies up to almost 3-fold against the Omicron variant.
On January 21, 2022, AstraZeneca Phils have completed its delivery of 16.5M doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine procured through the multilateral agreement with the national government, local government units, and the private sector. These vaccines will be made available to more Filipinos for the primary and booster doses as continued support to the Philippine national vaccination program to help Filipinos fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Developing a vaccine that reduces the risk of COVID-19 and its potentially severe complications is possibly the biggest contribution of global biopharmaceutical AstraZeneca to a world crippled by the pandemic, but it certainly isn’t the only one.
Studies are underway to provide information on the impact of the new Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) on AstraZeneca’s long-acting antibody combination.7,8 Of the Omicron binding site substitutions relevant to AstraZeneca’s long-acting antibody combination that has been tested to date in preclinical assays, none have been associated with escape from AstraZeneca’s long-acting antibody combination neutralization.7-8 In vitro findings demonstrate AstraZeneca’s long-acting antibody combination neutralizes other recent emergent SARS-CoV-2 viral variants, including the Delta and Mu variants.8
AstraZeneca is progressing with filings around the globe for potential emergency use authorization or conditional approval of AstraZeneca’s long-acting antibody combination in both COVID-19 prophylaxis and treatment. AZD7442 is not yet approved for use in the Philippines.
The vaccine has been granted conditional marketing authorization or emergency use in more than 90 countries. It also has Emergency Use Listing from the World Health Organization, which accelerates the pathway to access in up to 144 countries through the COVAX Facility. /PN
