By Comrade Dream
Oxford University- AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca’s history
In 1982, AstraZeneca was accused of developing a drug called Zimelidine that produced a rare side effect causing damage to the nervous system. The company noticed this side effect and recalled it one year later. According to Drug Watch, “AstraZeneca received harsh criticism for its involvement in scandals around its blockbuster antipsychotics, Seroquel and Seroquel XR. Critics say the company was more focused on maximizing profits while it still had the patent on the drug than on patient and trial participant safety.”
This led to AstraZeneca paying $350 million to resolve more than 23,000 lawsuits where individuals accused AstraZeneca’s drug of leading to diabetes. The company has also paid to settle illegal marketing charges. According to Drugs watch (2020), “AstraZeneca has faced several scandals including corrupt data in studies for marketing the drug to children, a sex scandal and a poorly run clinical trial that could have compromised patient safety and data reliability.”
This analysis suggests that AstraZeneca has a history of inaccurate data and lack of reliability. AstraZeneca cannot determine if their vaccine is safe enough to inject in people. They have numerous unprofessional and poorly run clinical trials. We cannot trust a scandalous company that cannot run a clinical trial with inaccurate data with producing a vaccine. They have proven to us, as colonized people, that these companies are only focused on improving their business and their economy.
Study results revealed that Seroquel was either inconclusive or harmful. These studies, however, did not get published. There have been documents found unsealed relating to the covered-up results. Sales representatives have been ordered to tell doctors that Seroquel does not cause diabetes, despite the company knowing about the link to diabetes as early as 1997. An internal 231 correspondence (written communication between employees) has exposed the two-faced company. Here is an email used as proof in a court case to reveal the truth:
“Thus far, we have buried trials 15, 31, 56. The larger issue is how do we face the outside world when they begin to criticize us for suppressing data.”
After many years of investigating the lies AstraZeneca has told doctors and patients, they paid a $520 million fine to the U.S. Department of Justice for promoting Seroquel for unapproved uses. In addition, the company has also paid $647 million to settle global lawsuits for hiding the truth and lying to the colonized masses regarding Seroquel’s side effects.
Oxford AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine results
The Oxford University AstraZeneca is a partnership between the University of Oxford research institute, its spinout company Vaccitech, and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. This vaccine does not need to be stored at freezing temperatures. It can be stored at a regular fridge temperature. According to the University of Oxford, it would be cheaper and easier to produce than the high-efficacy vaccines produced by BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna. Furthermore, the vaccination was being tested in South Africa, Brazil, Britain, and India. They found that the vaccination seemed to be 70.4% protective. There were more than 20,000 volunteers who participated in the trials. Only half of the people in the U.K. were being tested during these trials. Investigators have found that there were 30 coronavirus cases who were given 2 doses of the vaccine, 101 people received a control jab. Likewise, researchers have found that those who received 2 full doses of the vaccine were 62% protective.
The Oxford-AstraZeneca trials appear to include relatively few participants over the age of 55, even though this group is especially vulnerable to Covid-19. (People over 55 were not originally eligible to join the Brazilian trial at all.) Compare that to Pfizer’s trial, where 41 percent of the volunteers were over 55. The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine also seems to produce relatively high rates of undesirable experiences.
Neither of the two trials from which they combined data could have provided a clear answer on the vaccine’s efficacy on its own. Even worse, Oxford-AstraZeneca reported only the results for certain subgroups of people within each one. They did not report the total results of all groups. They stated that “for perspective on this: The two subgroups chosen left out perhaps half of the people in the Brazilian trial. Meanwhile, one of their key claims is that giving half a dose of the vaccine on the first injection, followed by a standard dose on the second one, led to better outcomes—but neither of these trials had been designed to test this hypothesis. In fact, it’s since emerged that the half-dose/full-dose option started as a mistake and one that was only caught when some people in the study didn’t have the usual high rate of adverse effects.” Therefore, this report does not justify if the vaccination will work for everyone.
However, the Oxford researchers have also revealed that a subset of volunteers had been mistakenly given a lower dose of the vaccine due to manufacturing problems. Strangely, that lower dosage produced a higher vaccine efficacy, around 90%. The scientists had no explanation for this anomaly. This is not proving the vaccination’s safety; it is yet to be approved by the health administration if it is suitable for the people to get vaccinated.
AstraZeneca’s vaccine side effects
About 70% of the vaccinated test persons had developed influenza-like symptoms, temporarily, as well as a high fever of over 38 degrees celsius. Similarly, a huge issue is a decrease in white blood cells during phase 1 and phase 2. One in 10 participants in the phase I/phase II study had to undergo blood monitoring, and it was found that the neutrophils (types of white blood cells) had temporarily decreased in 46% of these people. According to the biologist Arvay (2020), he states that “this neutropenia is an indication that the immune system is weakened by the vaccination.”
Arvay expressed that it was not justified to go on to phase III.
Sputnik
Sputnik’s vaccine result
Sputnik is a vaccine that is being developed in Russia. According to their updated preliminary results, the vaccine has more than 95% efficacy and protection, which apparently has more of a success rate compared to Moderna and Pfizer/BionTech. Russian officials have also claimed that their vaccine has greater efficacy than the Oxford AstraZeneca covid vaccine because Russia stated that they have proprietary technology. Likewise, Sputnik results were documented after 42 days of a study in which 19,000 participants received two doses of the vaccine. The other group of 21,000 participants received a single dose. In total, there were 40,000 participants involved in the trials. After they have received their results, the data has shown that the vaccine had approximately 91.4% efficacy, 28 days after participants received the first dose. The Sputnik V team announced clinical trials in Venezuela, India, UAE, and Belarus.
It is also important to highlight that this vaccine has not been authorized by the European Medicines Agency or the FDA in the US.
Sputnik’s side effects
According to the Science Media Centre, the adenoviruses used in the vaccine are also likely to produce more side-effects such as fever or headache, even though these symptoms are expected to be mild.
Sinovac
Sinovac’s vaccine result
Sinovac is a COVID-19 vaccine that is being developed in Beijing, China. According to the BBC, “Zhu Fengcai, one of the paper’s authors, said the results – which are based on 144 participants in the phase 1 trial and 600 in the phase 2 trial, meant the vaccine was suitable for emergency use only.”
Considering that all six vaccines so far were developed in 8 months, rather than the typical and medically safe 5-7 years, China’s honesty about the vaccines’ emergency nature puts it high up on the list. As we’ve seen, transparency is not as important as profit for the colonial-capitalist companies on this list.
So far, no data from the ongoing phase 3 trials has been published yet. Furthermore, the four Chinese vaccine late-stage trials are being conducted and experimented within Pakistan, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Russia. Nearly 60,000 people had received a vaccine by early November.
China Briefing states that Sinovac has taken the traditional route with the vaccine. Unlike Moderna and Pfizer/BionTech, Sinovac does not contain any genetic technology.
“Sinovac has taken a different approach by vaccinating people with the whole, “killed” virus. This requires no sophisticated protein or RNA design or genetic engineering. Scientists simply inactivate the virus with a chemical (beta propiolactone) and mix it with an adjuvant (alum) that effectively puts the immune system on full alert by irritating it. In theory, such vaccines can produce broader antibody and T cell responses because they contain the full set of viral proteins, rather than one, such as spike. And unlike mRNA vaccines, which must be stored at subzero temperatures, inactivated viruses require no more than ordinary refrigeration.”
This is quite like the Russian Sputnik vaccine, where they have also taken the traditional route.
Furthermore, China’s regulators appear to be satisfied with the studies from each of the three companies (Sinovac, CanSino, and CNBG). CanSino received authorization to vaccinate the military back in June. Since then, both Sinovac and CNBG have received the go-ahead to vaccinate large populations in China outside of ongoing clinical trials. According to the company, Sinovac Biotech, they have stated that 90 percent of the company’s employees have received the vaccine because they are front line workers and are part of the high-risk group. The company itself began to sell its vaccine for two doses in Yiwu, near Shanghai in Zhejiang province. The vaccines cost RMB 400; in US dollars, it is $60.
The neo-colonial health administration, Anvisa, suspended Brazil’s trial of the vaccine in November, citing a “severe adverse incident” reported to be a volunteer’s death. However, the head of the institute conducting the trial said the death had no connection to the vaccine.
Sinovac’s side effect
So far, there is no information regarding the side effects of Sinovac because the research is still ongoing.
The Safety of the People is our Highest Concern
It is important to highlight that we have not seen the long-term effects of these vaccines. Already, many people are dying or experiencing allergic reactions. When you are missing vital details, the smartest thing to do is wait for further information and observe the news after more people have taken these vaccines. We need to remind ourselves that the same system that told people not to wear masks and go outside are the same people who create these vaccines to force people back into work. This will only murder more colonized people.
Colonized people need community organization when the colonial government is actively pushing this virus into our lives. Likewise, we need to protect the poor and working-class colonized people and provide the most accurate, helpful and useful information to be aware of the risks and what to do in difficult situations. Therefore, please look after yourselves, comrades, and make sure you are always wearing your KN95 masks; cover your hair and eyes; continue to wash your hands, and always carry with you an antibacterial gel or antibacterial wipes.
Stay safe, and most importantly, get organized! Join Black Hammer as we tackle this pandemic head-on by building Hammer City, an entire city without Rent, Cops, Colonizers, or Coronavirus!
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