A healthcare provider withdraws a dose of the Oxford / AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine at the Brighton Center vaccination center in Brighton, southern England, on January 26, 2021.
Ben Stensall | AFP | Getty images
LONDON – The findings of a large US study have shown that the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford is 79% effective in preventing symptomatic illness and 100% effective against serious illness and hospitalization.
The safety and efficacy analysis of the vaccine, published Monday, was based on 32,449 participants from a phase 3 study.
In comparison, the Moderna vaccine has been shown to be over 94% effective in preventing Covid, and the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been shown to be 95% effective.
AstraZeneca said it would continue to analyze the data and prepare for the primary analysis to be submitted to the U.S. Food and Drugs Administration for emergency use approval in the coming weeks.
It comes shortly after a flurry of countries temporarily stopped using the shot following reports of blood clots in some vaccinated people. Health experts sharply criticized the move, 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 among 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 is both safe and effective.
The World Health Organization and the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis have recommended countries to continue using the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine.
AstraZeneca said in a press release on Monday that an independent board has not identified any security risks related to the shot. They also conducted a specific study 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 Monitoring Board “found no increased risk of thrombosis or events characterized by thrombosis among the 21,583 participants who received at least one dose of the vaccine. The specific search for CVST found no events in this study.”
Shares of AstraZeneca were up nearly 1% in early morning deals.
‘Much needed’ additional vaccination option
Ann Falsey, professor of medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, USA, and co-lead investigator on the study, said: “ This analysis validates the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as a much-needed complementary vaccination option, and provides the 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 consistent across ethnicity and age.
In particular, the Oxford AstraZeneca injection was 80% effective in preventing Covid in participants aged 65 and older.
A health worker will receive Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan on Monday, March 22, 2021. Taiwan has started vaccination against the coronavirus 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 forms of COVID-19 and across all age groups,” said Mene Pangalos, executive vice president of BioPharmaceuticals R&D at AstraZeneca, in a statement. statement. .
“We are convinced that this vaccine can play an important role in protecting millions of people worldwide from this deadly virus,” said Pangalos.
Of the participants in the interim analysis, about 20% were 65 years and older, while about 60% had co-morbidities associated with an increased risk of progression of severe Covid, such as diabetes or heart disease.