Astra-Oxford Covid-19 vaccine works but doses could be in short supply

Pfizer and Moderna may have an initial advantage in dealing with manufacturing challenges, as their novel messenger RNA technology can be scaled up.

AstraZeneca Plc and the University of Oxford followed Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc. in announcing that their Covid-19 vaccine appears to work. Though the U.K. partners’ data don’t look quite as sparkling, regulators could clear any of the shots for emergency use in coming weeks.

The world needs as many vaccines as possible to end the pandemic, AstraZeneca Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot said. Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca “don’t have enough production capacity for the world,” he said. “There’s no competition, really.”

Pfizer and Moderna may have an initial advantage in dealing with the manufacturing challenges, as their novel messenger