The first domestic coronavirus vaccine is coming out… It’s more effective than AZ

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The first domestic COVID-19 vaccine developed by a Korean company is expected to receive approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety within this week.

The preventive effect is better than that of AstraZeneca, and it has also shown some effect on Omicron mutation, and it can be refrigerated.

If it is approved by the World Health Organization, it will be able to contribute to vaccination in countries that have not been receiving vaccines.

Reporter Lee Jun-beom covered the story.

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The approval of SK Bioscience’s SK Bioscience, Korea’s first coronavirus vaccine, is imminent.

It has been more than two years since the development began in earnest with a grant from the US Gates Foundation.

[서경원/식품의약품안전평가원장]

“This is the first domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine produced in Korea from raw materials to finished products.”

We compared the preventive effect with the first released AstraZeneca vaccine, and it was superior.

About 4,000 adults in 6 countries were vaccinated twice with an interval of 4 weeks and observed after 14 days.

Omicron mutations have also shown some preventive effects.

Adverse reactions such as fatigue and muscle pain were mainly seen in young people, and they were similar to those of AstraZeneca.

After reviewing these results, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety’s Central Pharmacist Review Committee evaluated that it was okay to approve the vaccine.

[오일환/중앙약사심의위원회 위원장]

“Based on the opinions, we judged that this vaccine can be approved for marketing in terms of safety and effectiveness.”

Another strength is that it is made using genetic recombination technology, just like the flu vaccine.

Unlike mRNA-based vaccines such as Pfizer and Moderna, which have proven safety and require cryogenic facilities, they can be distributed and stored in a refrigerated manner.

The World Health Organization is also planning to push for emergency use approval, which is expected to contribute to vaccination in low- and middle-income countries that lack cryogenic facilities.

The first domestic coronavirus vaccine is particularly meaningful in that it has the technology to respond to new infectious diseases on its own.

[이재갑/한림대 강남성심병원 감염내과 교수]

“Because we can produce a large amount on our own in Korea, if there is a new epidemic in the future, the aspect of being able to access (vaccine) more quickly is a very important achievement…”

The government has completed a contract to purchase 10 million doses of the vaccine.

However, since the clinical trial for the third inoculation has not been completed, it seems difficult to use it immediately for the fourth inoculation, which is expected around this fall.

This is Lee Jun-beom from MBC News.

Video coverage: Jung Woo-young / Video editing: Lee Sang-min

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