Coronavirus: two new potential vaccines join mix

Australia has secured access to two new potential COVID-19 vaccines­ as part of a $1.5bn deal, doubling the number of drug candidates to help combat the virus.

On finding a Covid-19 vaccine, Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he isn’t ‘putting all our eggs in one basket’. Picture: Sean Davey

Australia has secured access to two new potential COVID-19 vaccines­ as part of a new $1.5bn deal, doubling the number of drug candidates to help combat the virus, with Scott Morrison saying he wasn’t “putting all our eggs in one basket”.

Under international agreements struck this week, Australia would be given access to up to 40 million doses of a drug prod­uced by US biotech company Nova­vax, as well as 10 million doses of an alternative drug produced by Pfizer and BioNTech.

“There are no guarantees that these vaccines will prove successful, however, our strategy puts Australia at the front of the queue, if our medical experts give the vaccines­ the green light,” the Prime Minister said. “By securing multiple COVID-19 vaccines we are giving Australians the best shot at early access to a vaccine, should trials prove successful.”

Both vaccines are expected to be available in Australia from early next year if they pass muster and go to market. The Novavax vaccine candidate, which will likely require two doses, began phase-three clinical trials in Britain in September. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine candidate has also entered phase-three clinical trials.

The deal will bring Australia’s total spend on vaccines to more than $3.2bn and builds on the existing access to 33.8 million doses of the protein-based candidate developed­ by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. It has also secured 51 million doses of a local candidate produced by the University of Queensland and Australian manufacturer CSL (Seqirus).

Last month’s budget, which forecast real GDP growth of 4.25 per cent next year, assumed a “population-wide Australian COVID­-­19 vaccination to be fully in place by late 2021” and the progressi­ve lifting of border restrict­ions and movement bans.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Wednesday the nation’s COVID-19 vaccine portfolio now included two protein vaccines, one mRNA or molecular protein vaccine, and one viral vector-type vaccine, strengthening Australia’s position to access safe and effect­ive vaccines as soon as available.

“The goal and the expectation is that Australians who sought vaccination will be vaccinated within 2021,” Mr Hunt said.

“There are no surprises, health and aged-care workers and the elderly and vulnerable will be the first to gain access to a vaccine that’s deemed safe and effective.”

He assured Aust­ralians on Sunday the nation was on track to deliver the first doses by March.

Catherine Bennett, who holds the chair of epidemiology at Deakin University, said she thought it was a good idea for the commonwealth to invest in as many vaccine­ candidates as possible.

“We don’t know until they come to market what will translate to be a safe and efficacious vaccine, so the more we have in line the better,” Professor Bennett said. “It might also be possible that some vaccines are more effective in more vulnerable parts of the population or that some candid­ates have a more enduring effect, so it is good to have that choice.”

Former World Health Organisation epidemiologist Adrian Ester­man­, now of the University of South Australia, said that as more vaccines came on stream there would be greater potential to get ones with higher efficacy.

“There’s a pretty high chance one will become available by next year, however, early vaccines that get licensed might not have a huge amount of effectiveness and might need multiple doses,” he said. “We want to have as many fingers in the pie as possible.”