A healthcare professional prepares a dose of the Oxford / AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine at the vaccination center set up inside Brighton Center in Brighton, southern England, on 26 January 2021.
Ben Stensall | AFP | Getty Images
LONDON – The results of a large trial in the United States have shown that the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University is 79% effective in preventing symptomatic illness and 100% effective against serious illness and hospitalization.
The vaccine safety and efficacy analysis, released Monday, was based on 32,449 participants in a phase 3 trial.
In comparison, it has been found that the Moderna vaccine is more than 94% effective in preventing Covid and the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 95% effective.
AstraZeneca said it would continue to analyze the data and prepare for the main analysis to be submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for authorization for emergency use in the coming weeks.
It comes shortly after a group of countries temporarily suspended the use of the shot after reports of blood clots in some vaccinated people. Health experts harshly criticized the measure, citing a lack of data, while analysts expressed concern about the impact on vaccine uptake as the virus continues to spread.
Germany, France, Italy and Spain are some of those who have resumed use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine after the European drug regulator said its initial investigation into possible side effects concluded the shot was safe and effective.
The World Health Organization and the International Society for Thrombosis and Hemostasis have recommended that countries continue to use the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
AstraZeneca said in a statement Monday that an independent council did not identify any security issues related to the shooting. They also performed a specific review of blood clots and cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), an extremely rare blood clot in the brain, with the help of an independent neurologist.
The data safety control board “found no increased risk of thrombosis or thrombosis events among the 21,583 participants who received at least one dose of the vaccine. CVST-specific search found no events in this essay “.
AstraZeneca shares traded nearly 1% in early morning trading.
Additional vaccination option “much needed”
Ann Falsey, a professor of medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, USA, and lead co-researcher at the trial, said: “This analysis validates the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as a much-needed additional vaccination option, offering confidence that adults of all ages can benefit from protection against the virus. “
The pharmaceutical giant said the shot was well tolerated and its effectiveness was found to be consistent between ethnicity and age.
It should be noted that the Oxford-AstraZeneca trait was 80% effective in preventing Covid in participants aged 65 years or older.
A health worker receives the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan, on Monday, March 22, 2021. Taiwan began coronavirus vaccination today.
I-Hwa Cheng | Bloomberg | Getty Images
“These results add to the growing body of evidence showing that this vaccine is well tolerated and highly effective against all severities of COVID-19 and in all age groups,” said Mene Pangalos, executive vice president of R + D from BioPharmaceuticals to AstraZeneca. .
“We are confident that this vaccine can play an important role in protecting millions of people around the world against this lethal virus,” Pangalos said.
Among the participants in the interim analysis, approximately 20% were 65 years of age or older, while approximately 60% had comorbidities associated with an increased risk of severe Covid progression, such as diabetes or heart disease.