COVID-19: AstraZeneca vaccine 76% effective against virus symptoms in updated report

Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca on March 25 updated its data on how well its coronavirus jab works and said that its vaccine showed 76 per cent efficacy against symptomatic coronavirus disease and 100 per cent efficacy against severe or critical disease. According to a press note, the drug firm said that the vaccine was also 85 per cent effective in preventing symptoms in volunteers 65 and older. The latest data comes after US health officials had rebuked the drugmaker for not using the most up-to-date information when it published an interim analysis on Monday that said that the vaccine was 79 per cent effective. 

In a statement,  Mene Pangalos, executive vice president for biopharmaceuticals research for the company, said, The primary analysis is consistent with our previously released interim analysis, and confirms that our COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective in adults, including those aged 65 years and over. We look forward to filing our regulatory submission for Emergency Use Authorization in the US and preparing for the rollout of millions of doses across America”. 

‘Well-tolerated and no safety concerns’ 

As per the press release, the latest data is based on 190 infections among more than 32,400 participants in the US, Chile and Peru. AstraZeneca said that the vaccine was well-tolerated and no safety concerns related to the vaccine were identified. Now, in the coming weeks, the company will submit the primary analysis for peer-reviewed publication. 

It is worth mentioning that earlier this week, the independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) that reviews data from multiple COVID-19 vaccine candidates expressed concern over AstraZeneca’s announcements on its latest findings. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases had announced that the company may have included outdated information from the trial, which may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data. The US officials had urged AstraZeneca to work with DSMB to review the efficacy data and ensure the most accurate data to be made public as quickly as possible. 

Meanwhile, the updated 76 per cent efficacy rate compares with rates of about 95 per cent for vaccines from Pfizer/ioNTech and Moderna. Now, if the US FDA approves AstraZeneca’s vaccine in the coming weeks, it will become the fourth COVID-19 vaccine to receive an emergency use authorization in the country. The United States has already given approval to Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine. The most recent approval came late last month when the FDA approved J&J’s single-dose vaccine, which is being dubbed revolutionary because of its minimal storage and transportation requirements. 

(Image: AP/Unsplash)