[Newsletter] Round-Up of COVID-19 Vaccine Updates: Week Commencing February 01, 2021

With the news on the novel coronavirus pandemic ever-changing, and the search for COVID-19 vaccines still continuing, it is difficult to stay on top of the goings-on of the vaccines in development. To help you stay on top of things, Nidhi Parekh of The Shared Microscope writes weekly updates on the vaccines alone.

Struggling to keep up with the goings-on of the COVID-19 vaccines?! We’ve got you covered! Check out our weekly COVID-19 Newsletter for the latest information on COVID-19 drugs and vaccines. #TSMUpdates #VaccineInfo #COVID19Updates


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COVID-19 Top Vaccines

There are currently 21 COVID-19 vaccines in the final phase of clinical trials, some of which have received regulatory approval for use limited or full use in various countries. For more information on the regulatory process for vaccines (which is a labyrinth), check out this post here.

1. The Oxford/AstraZeneca Vaccine

What is The Oxford/AstraZeneca Vaccine And How Does It Work?

For a quick one-paragraph rundown, check out our recent post here.

Latest Update

South Africa has halted the rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine due to disappointing efficacy against the South African variant.

A small scale study suggests that the vaccine offers as little as 10% protection against the South African COVID variant. 

The vaccine however is shown to be effective against variants found in the United Kingdom. 


2. The Moderna Vaccine

What is The Moderna Vaccine And How Does It Work?

For a quick one-paragraph rundown, check out our recent post here.

Latest Update

The Swiss Government has increased its order of the Moderna vaccine from 7.5 million doses to 13.5 million doses. 

Singapore has also approved the interim authorization of the Moderna vaccine. 

Moderna has also warned that their current jab is less effective against the South African variant. They are now launching a trial of a new COVID-19 vaccine to tackle this new strain of the virus.


3. Sinovac’s CoronaVac Vaccine

What is The CoronaVac Vaccine And How Does It Work?

For a quick one-paragraph rundown, check out our recent post here.

Latest Update

This week, China approved Sinovac’s CoronaVac for general use for the public. The vaccine has until now been used in high-risk groups such as healthcare workers and other front-line workers. 


4. Cansino’s Ad5-nCoV

What is Cansino’s Ad5-nCoV Vaccine And How Does It Work?

For a quick one-paragraph rundown, check out our recent post here.

Latest Update

Results from the Cansino vaccine study have revealed that the coronavirus vaccine has an efficacy rate of 65.7%. To learn more about the efficacy rate, check out the article by Bloomberg here.


5. Unnamed Inactive Vaccine – Wuhan

What is The Inactive Virus Vaccine From Wuhan And How Does It Work?

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For a quick one-paragraph rundown, check out our recent post here.

Latest Update

There have been no updates on this vaccine this week. For our latest update, check out our previous newsletter here


6. Sinopharm’s BBIBP-CorV

What is Sinopharm’s BBIBP-CorV And How Does It Work?

For a quick one-paragraph rundown, check out our recent post here.

Latest Update

Sinopharm is currently studying the efficacy of the BBIBP-CorV vaccine against different variants of the Coronavirus, including the South African variant.

Preliminary results suggest that the antibody response created by the vaccine was only slightly weaker against this variant. This study is currently in pre-print and available to view here.


7. Pfizer and BioNTech’s BNT162b2

What is Pfizer and BioNTech’s BNT162 Vaccine And How Does It Work?

For a quick one-paragraph rundown, check out our recent post here.

Latest Update

Similar to the other vaccines discussed so far, the Pfizer vaccine is also slightly less effective against the variant found in South Africa. 

Their vaccine company is currently developing a vaccine based on the South African variant, with the hope that this vaccine may provide effective protection from the South Africa variant.


8. The Russian Sputnik V

What is theSputnik V And How Does It Work?

For a quick one-paragraph rundown, check out our recent post here.

Latest Update

The Sputnik vaccine has an efficacy rate of 91.6%. In Russia, individuals are being lured in to accept the vaccine by offering them free ice cream after they have had the jab. 

This week, Hungary has approved the Sputnik V vaccine for use in the country, with 40,000 vaccine doses ready to be rolled out. Mexico, too, has authorized the use of this vaccine. 


9. Novavax’s NVX-CoV2373

What is Novavax’s NVX-CoV2373 And How Does It Work?

For a quick one-paragraph rundown, check out our recent post here.

Latest Update

Last week, Novavax announced that their COVID-19 vaccine demonstrates an 89.3% efficacy in UK Phase 3 clinical trials.

This week, Switzerland announced an agreement to purchase 6 million doses of the NVX-CoV2373. 

Novavax has also begun the rolling review process in several countries worldwide — including the European Medicines Agency, the U.S. FDA, UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, and Health Canada — with the hope that their vaccine will soon be approved for use in these countries. 


10. Johnson & Johnson’s JNJ-78436735/Ad26.CoV2-S

What is Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 Vaccine And How Does It Work?

For a quick one-paragraph rundown, check out our recent post here.

Latest Update

Earlier this week, Johnson & Johnson submitted an application to the United States FDA. If approved, this will be the world’s first single-dose COVID-19 vaccine to be approved. 

Results from their trials show that the vaccine has an efficacy rate of 72% in the United States, 66% in Latin America, and 57% in South Africa. 


11. Murdoch Children’s Research Institute’s BCG Vaccine Trial

What is Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Doing?

For a quick one-paragraph rundown, check out our recent post here.

Latest Update

Phase 3 clinical trial results for this vaccine are still to be declared. Since the trials started, we haven’t had any updates on the use of the BCG vaccine against COVID-19.


12. Bharat BioTech’s Covaxin

What is Bharat BioTech’s Covaxin And How Does It Work?

For a quick one-paragraph rundown, check out our recent post here.

Latest Update

Bharat Biotech has confirmed that they are likely to begin their Covaxin trial on children by early March. The trial will be undertaken in children aged 2 to 18.


13. The Medicago-GSK Coronavirus-Like Particle (CoVLP)

What is Medicago’s Coronavirus-Like Particle (CoVLP)?

For a quick one-paragraph rundown, check out our recent post here.

Latest Update

There have been no new updates on this vaccine this week. For our most recent update, check out our post here.


14. Anhui Zhifei Longcom and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences Vaccine Candidate

What is Anhui Zhifei Longform’s vaccine based on?

For a quick one-paragraph rundown, check out our recent post here.

Latest Update

There have been no new updates with regards to this vaccine this week. Check out our latest update on this vaccine here


15. The AnGes AG0302-COVID19

What is AnGes’ AG0302-COVID19 vaccine?

For a quick one-paragraph rundown, check out our recent post here.

Latest Update

There have been no new updates on this vaccine this week. For our most recent update on the vaccine, check out our post here


16. Institute of Medical Biology at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences’ Vaccine

What is the Institute of Medical Biology’s vaccine?

For a quick one-paragraph rundown, check out our recent post here.

Latest Update

There have been no new updates on this vaccine this week. For our most recent update on the vaccine, check out our post here


17. Clover Biopharmaceuticals’ COVID-19 Vaccine

What is Clover Biopharmaceuticals’ vaccine?

For a quick one-paragraph rundown, check out our recent post here.

Latest Update

The COVID-19 vaccine in development by Clover Pharmaceuticals announced earlier this week that it was canceling the study with the GSK adjuvant, and replacing the adjuvant with a Dynavax adjuvant. 


18. Vector Institute’s EpiVacCorona

What is the EpiVacCorona vaccine?

For a quick one-paragraph rundown, check out our recent post here.

Latest Update

TASS has reported that the results of the EpiVacCorona trials are expected to be published by the end of February 2021. The company believes that the vaccine can provide immunity for up to one year


19. CureVac’s CVnCoV

What is CureVac’s CVnCoV vaccine?

For a quick one-paragraph rundown, check out our recent post here.

Latest Update

The UK Government has announced a partnership with CureVac, which will seek to develop vaccines against the new COVID-19 variants. 


20. Kazakhstan’s QazCovid Vaccine

What is the QazCovid vaccine?

For a quick one-paragraph rundown, check out our recent post here.

Latest Update

There have been no new updates on this vaccine this week. For our most recent update on the vaccine, check out our post here


21. India’s Zydus Cadila (aka ZyCoV-D)

What is India’s ZyCoV-D vaccine?

For a quick one-paragraph rundown, check out our recent post here.

Latest Update

Earlier this week, Zydus Cadila has announced that it has received more orders for the COVID-19 vaccine than the company can make. Phase 3 trials for this intradermal vaccine are currently underway. 


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