AstraZeneca begins trials of a drug designed to prevent and treat the "virus"
Corona is slowing down in most regions of the world, despite its continuing spread
An Italian health worker walks past a hospital in Milan dedicated to treating "Corona" cases. EPA
New data from the World Health Organization showed that the "Covid-19" epidemic is slowing in most regions of the world, especially in the Americas, despite its continuing spread, and at a time when the British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, which is preparing a vaccine against "Covid-19", announced yesterday that it is The first phase trials have started on a drug prepared, with the aim of providing prevention and treatment of the disease. The director of the Vaccine Group at the University of Oxford, Andrew Pollard, said that an experimental anti-vaccine developed by the university, in cooperation with «AstraZeneca» may be presented to the regulatory authorities this year, if scientists can collect Enough data.
In detail, more than 1.7 million new infections were recorded, and about 39,000 additional deaths from the Corona virus were recorded last week, as the WHO stated, in an evaluation report, published late Monday.
The rates for the week, which ended on August 23, showed a 5% decrease in the number of injuries in the world, and a 12% decrease in the number of deaths, compared to the previous week.
Despite this slowdown, the number of cases of the epidemic reached 23 million, and more than 813,000 deaths.
With the exception of Southeast Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean, all regions recorded a decrease in the number of new injuries and deaths, according to the organization.
The Americas remain by far the most affected region in the world, as they recorded, last week, more than half of new infections globally, and 62% of deaths.
But the region also recorded the largest slowdown, with the number of new infections declining by 11%, and deaths by 17%, compared to the previous week. This is especially due to the decline in the number of injuries announced in the United States and Brazil, the two countries most affected in the world, as the data showed.
On the other hand, the organization warned that a number of countries and territories in the Caribbean region recorded a significant increase in the number of injuries, indicating that this may be linked to the increase in tourism activity.
Southeast Asia, the second most affected region in the world by the epidemic, recorded 28% of the total injuries last week, and 19% of the total deaths, an increase of 4% from the previous week.
India records the largest number of injuries and deaths in that region, with 455,000 new injuries last week, which brings the total number of injuries in it to more than three million, with 6,700 new deaths, bringing the toll to more than 56,700 cases.
The number of injuries continued to rise, also, in the eastern Mediterranean region last week, with an increase of 4% over the previous week, but new deaths decreased for the sixth consecutive week.
In Europe, where the number of new infections has gradually increased in recent weeks, the epidemiological path has shown a limited slowdown, according to the data.
The number of new deaths in Europe continued to decline, and decreased by 12%, compared to the previous week.
This comes at a time when the British pharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca, announced that it had begun first-phase trials on a drug, to provide prevention and treatment of Corona. The first participants in this trial received their dose of this drug, which is a combination of two antibodies, the company said in a statement.
The first phase, which includes 48 healthy British volunteers, between the ages of 18 and 55, will determine whether the drug (codenamed AZD7442) is safe and monitor how the human body responds to it.
The trial is funded by the United States government, through the Department of Defense, and the Department of Health. The group describes these experiments as an "important step" for the drug that can be used by people exposed to the virus, and who are already infected with it.
It is expected that the results of the first phase will appear in the second half of the year, and if they are final, AstraZeneca will move to the trials of the second and third stages, on a larger scale to evaluate the drug’s effectiveness.
"AstraZeneca" is also working with the University of Oxford to develop a vaccine against the virus, which has reached phase III trials with the participation of thousands of people, and its results are expected to be released from September.
This project raises so much anticipation that according to press reports, US President Donald Trump is considering speeding up the process of permitting its use in the United States.
For its part, the British government confirmed, the day before yesterday, that the United Kingdom will be the first to benefit from it, if it is approved.
In turn, Director of the Vaccine Group at the University of Oxford, Andrew Pollard, said that the experimental vaccine, which is being developed by the university, in cooperation with «AstraZeneca» may be presented to the regulators this year, if scientists are able to collect enough data.
"We could provide this data to regulators this year if cases increase rapidly in clinical trials, and then there will be a process that goes through in order to fully evaluate the data," Pollard told BBC Radio.
The Oxford vaccine raised early hopes in its first human trials, when it triggered an immune response, highlighting its position as one of the leading vaccines in the race to produce an anti-disease vaccine that paralyzed the global economy.
The experience made headlines this week, when the "Financial Times" newspaper said that the US administration was considering expediting procedures for using the vaccine in the United States, before the presidential elections, scheduled for the third of November.
The newspaper added that one of the options is for the US Food and Drug Administration to issue a permit for the possible use of the vaccine "in emergency situations" in October.
The number of new deaths in Europe continued to decline, and decreased by 12%, compared to the previous week.
The Oxford vaccine raised early hopes in its first human trials, when it triggered an immune response.