Oxford-AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine is shockingly cheap
An interim trial analysis for Oxford-AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine found the candidate's average efficacy to be 70 percent. While considered encouraging, it falls short of the rates shown by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, whose vaccines appear to be more than 90 percent effective.
Still, the Oxford-AstraZeneca candidate has a few key advantages — it can be stored at regular refrigerators temperatures for a long period of time, and it's much cheaper than the other candidates, which means it could be particularly crucial for developing nations and rural communities around the world.
The vaccine costs just $3 to $4 per dose. In comparison, the Pfizer and Moderna candidates cost around $20 and $30, respectively. AstraZeneca has also made a "no-profit" pledge, and the more-established technology used by Oxford means it will be easier to mass produce cheaply, BBC News notes. Read more at BBC and The Financial Times.
It's ~1/10 the cost of the other vaccine candidates reported so far, and doesn't have to be frozen (just refrigerated). Even at only 70% effective that would still be a big boost for poorer countries.
And, early data suggests an alternative dosing regime may improve efficacy. https://t.co/r102z6yUqf
— Robert Rohde (@RARohde) November 23, 2020
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