Covid vaccine update: When will others be ready?
Two Covid vaccines are now being rolled out in the UK, with a third having been approved for use.
But how do the three vaccines compare and what about others on the horizon?
Why do we need a vaccine?
The vast majority of people are still vulnerable to coronavirus. It’s only the current restrictions that are preventing more people from dying.
Vaccines teach our bodies to fight the infection by stopping us from catching coronavirus, or at least making Covid less deadly.
Having a vaccine, alongside better treatments, is “the” exit strategy.
Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine
The roll-out of the Oxford vaccine began on 5 January. It was approved late in 2020 after trials showed that it stopped 70% of people developing Covid symptoms.
The data also showed a strong immune response in older people.
There is also intriguing data that suggests perfecting the dose could increase protection up to 90%
The UK has ordered 100 million doses
It is given in two doses
This may be one of the easiest vaccines to distribute, because it does not need to be stored at very cold temperatures.
It is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus from chimpanzees, that has been modified to not grow in humans.
Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine
The big breakthrough came when Pfizer-BioNTech published its first results in November.
They showed the vaccine is up to 95% effective
The UK is due to get 40 million doses
It is given in two doses, three weeks apart
The vaccine must be stored at a temperature of around -70C. It will be transported in a special box, packed in dry ice and installed with GPS trackers.
On 2 December, the UK became the first country in the world to approve the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for widespread use.
Six days later 90-year-old Margaret Keenan became the first patient to receive the vaccine at University Hospital in Coventry. Since then, more than a million people in the UK have been vaccinated.
Moderna vaccine
The Moderna vaccine is a new type called an RNA vaccine, and uses a tiny fragment of the virus’s genetic code.
This starts making part of the virus inside the body, which the immune system recognises as foreign and starts to attack.
It protects 94.5% of people, the company says
The UK has pre-ordered 17 million doses which it should start to receive in the spring
It is given in two doses, four weeks apart
30,000 have been involved in the trials, with half getting the vaccine and half dummy injections
The Moderna vaccine uses the same approach as the Pfizer vaccine but it is easier to store, because it stays stable at -20C for up to six months.
When can you get the Covid vaccine?