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‘Which vaccine is best?’: The pitfalls and challenges of comparing the different Covid jabs The world’s different vaccines must be contextualised in the ever-changing epidemiological landscape, which varies from country to country, writes Samuel Lovett
Drawing comparisons between the different Covid-19 vaccines can be a dangerous game to play. At a time when increasing vaccination rates and building up immunity is all that matters, the desire to focus on headline estimates of efficacy feels counter-productive.
The reality is that all of the globe’s approved vaccines have been proven to be remarkably effective in providing protection against severe illness and hospitalisation from Covid-19 – a much-needed win that will alleviate pressure on the world’s hardest-hit health services.
Getting these jabs into people’s arms is the real ________, and as international rows over supplies threaten to escalate, narratives comparing which vaccine ranks better will only serve to undermine public confidence in those jabs which aren’t perceived to be as effective.
Of course, there are some undeniable differences between the vaccines which cannot be ignored and must be taken into consideration as part of efforts to ramp up inoculation programmes across the world.
The first is price. Some 3.3 billion doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, the target of much suspicion and mistrust beyond Britain’s borders, are to be made at-cost this year, meaning the pharmaceutical giant isn’t looking to make a profit from these initial sales.
This will help some of the world’s lower- and middle-income nations, which have been outmuscled by fast-buying countries such as the UK and Japan, to buy supplies at lower prices and begin vaccinating their populations.
Alongside this, AstraZeneca is already providing its vaccine to Covax, the global initiative that is hoping to distribute roughly 2 billion doses to 92 of the globe’s poorest countries at a maximum cost of $3 a dose.
Some 170 million doses have been pledged to the scheme so far, but sub-contracting deals are in place between AstraZeneca and the Serum Institute of India, the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world, to increase this figure to 1.1 billion.
(Adapted from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/covid-vaccine-comparisons-astrazeneca-pfizer-b1821911.html)