Coronavirus vaccine is 70% effective – POLITICO

A coronavirus vaccine from the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca is 70% effective, according to an interim analysis from a large-scale clinical trial.

Monday’s announcement combines data from two different dosing regimens. When the vaccine was administered as a half dose and then as a full dose, it was 90% effective. When given in two full doses, it has been shown to be 62% effective.

“These results show that we have an effective vaccine that will save many lives,” Andrew Pollard, chief investigator of the Oxford vaccine trial, said in a statement. “Oddly enough, we have found that one of our dosing regimens can be around 90% effective, and if that dosing regimen is used more people could be vaccinated with an expected vaccine supply.”

The results indicate that there were 131 cases of COVID-19 in the test sample, but there were no hospitalized or severe cases in people who received the vaccine.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: “Incredibly exciting news, the Oxford vaccine has been shown to be so effective in trials. There are still more safety checks to come, but these are fantastic results.”

The announcement follows news from Moderna and Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine trials, both of which have shown more than 90% effectiveness. While Moderna and Pfizer / BioNtech use mRNA technology for their vaccine, the AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccine is a viral vector vaccine, which can be stored between two and eight degrees Celsius and distributed using “existing logistics”.

Monday’s announcement also noted that an independent data security oversight committee found that the vaccine had served its primary purpose of being effective.

After the press release, AstraZeneca said it would prepare to send the data to regulators for conditional or early approval. He also plans to request an emergency use list from the World Health Organization. This would ensure that the vaccine could be distributed in low income countries.

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky News after the announcement that the UK had “100 million doses on order and if all went well, the bulk of the rollout would be over of the new year “.

This article has been updated.