South Africa has temporarily suspended the use of a coronavirus vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford after preliminary findings showed that the vaccine had little impact in reducing mild to moderate disease due to a variant strain.
South Africa’s Health Minister Dr. Zweli Mkhize’s announcement on Sunday came shortly after the country received 1 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which was due to be launched this week.
The researchers investigated the vaccine’s effectiveness, given the resurgence of cases caused by a more transmissible and probably more virulent variant called B.1.351.
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The results resulted from a Phase 2 study of 2,000 healthy participants aged 18 to 65 years. The volunteers received two doses of the vaccine or a placebo. Prof. Shabir Madhi of the University of the Witwatersrand suggested that the vaccine did not protect against mild to moderate COVID-19. However, scientists still hope that the vaccine can offer protection against severe strokes.
Madhi said that before the variant appeared, the vaccine was showing “tremendous potential” in reducing mild to moderate illnesses with about 75% effectiveness, by the end of October.
The results show that variant cases later emerged among 19 of the 748 vaccinated participants and 20 cases occurred among 714 participants who received the placebo, suggesting that the vaccine was not effective in protecting against mild to moderate disease. These results translate into a vaccine effectiveness of 10.4%, although that number may fluctuate with a larger test.
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An AstraZeneca spokesman told Fox News that the study failed to determine the vaccine’s effectiveness among severe cases due to the study’s design, as the researchers also noted.
“This was a small study with healthy predominantly young adults (on average 31 years old), where serious illness is not prevalent,” says the statement sent by email from AstraZeneca. “No serious illness or hospitalization was observed in the vaccine or control participants. We believe that our vaccine will protect against serious illnesses caused by the new variant B.1.351, as the neutralizing antibody activity is equivalent to that seen with other COVID-19 vaccines that have been demonstrated activity against more serious illnesses, and particularly when the dosage interval is optimized for 8-12 weeks We are working with the South African Ministry of Health on how best to support the evaluation of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine against serious Variant B.1.351 diseases, and how to get this vaccine to the South African people. “
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Mkhize called the findings “disappointing” because the country was ready to launch the vaccines, but he said health professionals will receive vaccines developed by Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer. The health minister said that scientists are determining the best approach for AstraZeneca vaccines and will return with a proposal.
Johnson & Johnson recently announced that its single injection vaccine against coronavirus was 66% effective in preventing moderate to severe COVID-19 in a global trial, and 57% effective in South Africa 28 days after vaccination. Early results suggest that Pfizer’s vaccine will remain effective against the variant, although the company is working on a booster vaccine for better protection against strains.