INSTANT VIEW-AstraZeneca says its coronavirus vaccine is around 90% effective

(Adds comment from Johnson, Hancock)

Nov 23 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca said on Monday its vaccine for the novel coronavirus could be around 90% effective without any serious side effects, the latest drugmaker to unveil positive interim data in a scientific race to curb a global pandemic.

Here are some reactions to the news:

BRITISH PRIME MINISTER BORIS JOHNSON

"Incredibly exciting news the Oxford vaccine has proved so effective in trials," Johnson said on Twitter. "There are still further safety checks ahead, but these are fantastic results."

BRITISH HEALTH SECRETARY MATT HANCOCK

"We hope to be able to start vaccinating next month," Hancock told BBC TV.

"The bulk of the vaccine rollout programme will be in January, February, March. And we hope that sometime after Easter things will be able to start to get back to normal."

He earlier told Sky News: "We've got 100 million doses on order and should all that go well, the bulk of the rollout will be in the new year."

PROFESSOR ANDREW POLLARD, DIRECTOR OF THE OXFORD VACCINE GROUP AND CHIEF INVESTIGATOR OF THE OXFORD VACCINE TRIAL

"These findings show that we have an effective vaccine that will save many lives. Excitingly, we've found that one of our dosing regimens may be around 90% effective and if this dosing regime is used, more people could be vaccinated with planned vaccine supply.

"We also have a vaccine that is going to be easy to distribute if stored at fridge temperatures, and we can get it to every corner in the world. It's already been manufactured in 10 different sites around the world to make sure that that can happen."

PROFESSOR SARAH GILBERT, PROFESSOR OF VACCINOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

"The announcement today takes us another step closer to the time when we can use vaccines to bring an end to the devastation caused by SARS-CoV-2. We will continue to work to provide the detailed information to regulators. It has been a privilege to be part of this multi-national effort which will reap benefits for the whole world." (Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)