EC secures 300 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine

In contrast to the US, which has already invested US$8.3bn into contracts with different vaccine makers developing potential COVID-19 jabs under ‘Operation Warp Speed,’ it is the first supply agreement of the European Commission. However, further deals are expected to be announced shortely. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said "we are in talks with other companies about promising vaccines, based on diverse technologies. This increases our chances to obtain rapidly an effective remedy against the virus," she added. Sanofi’s recombinant vaccine, which targets the viral S-protein and uses an adjuvant provided by GlaxoSmithKline plc to boost the immune reaction, is to enter clinical tests in September and could be broadly available from mid-2021.

Though development of experimental coronavirus vaccines are moving forward at fast pace, it‘s still uncertain whether they can effectively prevent infections in the high risk group of older people, which have a weak immune system, and how long immunity might last. Some case reports suggest that protective antibodies disappear within about three months from the blood of patients that recovered from an infection with SARS-CoV-2. Passive immunisation through administration of antibodies targeting antigens of SARS-CoV-2 may lead to immunisation of the risk group and may prevent viral proliferation in infected people. However, they may protect people just for one to three months.

According to published data on the ten jabs that are currently clinically tested, producers expect their COVID-19 vaccines to protect people from infection with the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 for at least three months.