AstraZeneca announced today that its COVID-19 vaccine demonstrated statistically significant efficacy in preventing COVID-19 in a U.S. trial. AZD1222, developed in a collaboration between London-based AstraZeneca and Oxford University, was 79% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and 100% effective in preventing severe disease and hospitalization, according to a news release. Efficacy was consistent across ethnicity…
AstraZeneca vaccine offers little protection against South Africa SARS-CoV-2 variant
The ChAdOx1 COVID-19 vaccine jointly developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford is not effective against the B.1.351 variant first identified in South Africa, according to a recent study published in NEJM. In a five-month study involving HIV-negative adults, 23 of 717 placebo recipients developed mild-to-moderate COVID-19 while 19 of 750 vaccine recipients did. Based…
Blood clot fears prompt Europe to suspend use of AstraZeneca vaccine
Although no causal link has been found between blood clots and the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, several European nations have decided to suspend its use out of an abundance of caution. Germany, France, Italy, and Spain recently halted the use of the vaccine following reports of blood clots in vaccinated people’s brains. There have been 37…
Health Canada authorizes AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine
Health Canada today authorized the COVID-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University — the third vaccine for the novel coronavirus authorized in Canada. “This is very encouraging news. It means more people vaccinated, and sooner. Because for AstraZeneca, just like we were for Pfizer and Moderna, we are ready to get doses rolling,” said…
South Africa pauses rollout of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine
South Africa has scrapped its plans to vaccinate a portion of its population with the COVID-19 vaccine from Oxford University and AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) after a small study showed it was ineffective against a variant widely circulating there. In the interim, South Africa will rely on vaccines from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE). Researchers at Oxford University…
Why AstraZeneca and Sinovac’s COVID-19 vaccines have similar data challenges
A vaccine jointly developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) recently won authorization in the U.K. Meanwhile, health officials in Turkey and Brazil have indicated that a vaccine from the Chinese firm Sinovac is safe and effective. But one factor that could slow the deployment of both vaccines globally is confusing clinical trial results. Sinovac’s CoronaVac product…