Novavax vaccine 89 per cent effective in British trial
Julie Steenhuysen
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Chicago | Novavax said on Thursday (Friday AEST) that its coronavirus vaccine was 89.3 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19 in a trial conducted in Britain, and was nearly as effective in protecting against the more highly contagious variant discovered there, according to a preliminary analysis.
A mid-stage trial of the vaccine in South Africa, where a troubling new variant of the virus is common, showed 60 per cent effectiveness among people who did not have HIV.
Novavax said the trial, which enrolled 15,000 people aged 18 to 84, was expected to be used to apply for regulatory review in Britain.Â
The Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) recently announced a list of research projects selected in a call for proposals to receive R$50 million in funding for COVID-19 research. Of this amount, R$30 million will be drawn from the National Fund for Scientific and Technological Development (FNDCT) for research into treatments, vaccines, diagnostic tests, and the pathogenesis or biological mechanism of the disease. The other R$20 million will be contributed by the Brazilian Ministry of Health for use in projects around prevention, containment and healthcare (
see article). The overwhelming response to the call for projects shows that the scientific community in Brazil is eager to advance research about the disease, more than the government can afford. A total of 2,219 project proposals were submitted. If all were approved, these projects would involve R$1.7 billion in funding, 34 times more than available. An evaluation committee recommended a
Updated Jan 01, 2021 | 11:30 IST
The latest development is another step in the WHO s charge to ensure safe and equitable access to diagnostic and treatment resources to all countries regardless of their socio-economic profiles. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine being administered to a 67-year old man at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida. | Photo Credit: AP
Key Highlights
Although vaccine developers are working tirelessly to ramp up manufacturing and distribution of vaccines, there is a consensus that the early months of the global immunisation rollout will see demand far outstrip supply
COVAX has since announced that it has supply agreements in place with several vaccine manufacturers to provide almost 2 billion doses that it expects to deliver within the year
This has been a devastating year. More than 1.6 million people have died in the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 75 million cases and tens of trillions of dollars in economic damages. Millions of people are out of work and struggling to pay their bills, and more than a billion children are missing out on crucial time in school. In the U.S., this year also saw the horrifying killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, ruinous wildfires, and a presidential election unlike any other in modern times.
But there is good news coming in 2021.
I spent most of my time this year working with colleagues at the foundation and around the world on ways to test for, treat, and prevent COVID-19. When I think back on the pace of scientific advances in 2020, I am stunned. Humans have never made more progress on any disease in a year than the world did on COVID-19 this year. Under normal circumstances, creating a vaccine can take 10 years. This time, multiple vaccines were created in less than one y
We Don t Know Why COVID-19 Cases, Deaths Are Not High In Africa Bill Gates
According to Gates, it is possible that the figures provided are not real due to the gaps in health care systems in Africa.
by SaharaReporters, New York
Dec 27, 2020
Co-founder of Microsoft Foundation, Bill Gates, has said he does not know why COVID-19 cases and deaths in Africa are low as against the figures obtainable in developed countries.
According to Gates, it is possible that the figures provided are not real due to the gaps in health care systems in Africa.
Bill Gates
Harry Graphic
He said, It is also possible though I hope this is not the case that the true numbers are higher than they look because gaps in poor countries’ health care systems are making it hard to monitor the disease accurately.