A healthcare professional prepares a dose of the Oxford / AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine at the vaccination center installed at the 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 showed that the coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford is 79% effective in preventing symptomatic diseases and 100% effective against serious illness and hospitalization.
The vaccine’s safety and efficacy analysis, published on Monday, was based on 32,449 participants in a Phase 3 trial.
In comparison, Moderna’s vaccine proved to be more than 94% effective in preventing Covid, and the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was found to be 95% effective.
AstraZeneca said it will 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 authorization in the coming weeks.
The fact comes shortly after a flurry of countries temporarily suspend the use of the vaccine after reports of blood clots in some vaccinated people. Health experts strongly criticized the measure, citing the lack of data, while analysts expressed concern about the impact on vaccine absorption as the virus continues to spread.
Germany, France, Italy and Spain are among those who have resumed the use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine after the European drug regulator said its initial investigation of possible side effects concluded that the injection is 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 on Monday that an independent council has not identified security concerns related to the shooting. They also conducted a specific blood clot check, as well as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), an extremely rare blood clot in the brain, with the help of an independent neurologist.
The data safety monitoring committee “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. CVST-specific research found no events in this trial.”
AstraZeneca’s shares rose almost 1% in the early morning trading.
Additional ‘very necessary’ vaccination option
Ann Falsey, professor of medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, USA, and co-principal investigator of the study, 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 injection was well tolerated and its effectiveness was considered consistent across all ethnicities and ages.
Notably, the Oxford-AstraZeneca injection was 80% effective in preventing Covid in participants aged 65 and over.
A healthcare professional receives the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan, on Monday, March 22, 2021. Taiwan started vaccination against coronavirus today.
I-Hwa Cheng | Bloomberg | Getty Images
“These results add to the growing body of evidence that shows 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 Research and Development for Biopharmaceuticals from AstraZeneca, in a statement.
“We are confident that this vaccine can play an important role in protecting millions of people worldwide from this deadly virus,” said Pangalos.
Among the participants in the intermediate 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.