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AstraZeneca Vaccine Could Be 90% Effective, But Study Says More Research Needs To Be Done

Boris Johnson With AstraZeneca Vaccine
Bradley Devlin General Assignment & Analysis Reporter
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A recent analysis of data produced by AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine trials found the pharmaceutical company’s vaccine is effective, but more research needs to be done before it’s green-lit for public distribution, Reuters reported.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine, developed with Oxford University, can be up to 90% effective, peer-reviewed data of phase 3 trials published Tuesday in The Lancet shows, according to Reuters. The United Kingdom has already ordered 100 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine, Sky News reported.

Scientists and medical experts have been waiting for more comprehensive data from AstraZeneca’s vaccine trials after they criticized the company for not releasing more information last month, according to Reuters.

The Lancet study delved into the data in an attempt to explain why the vaccine’s efficacy was 62% for subjects that received two full doses, but 90% for participants that got a half dose followed by a full dose, Reuters reported. The Lancet found that out of the 6% of trial participants that received the lower dose regimen, not one was over the age of 55, according to Reuters. Thus, more data will be needed to see if this dose level is effective for age demographics most vulnerable to succumbing to the coronavirus.

“(This) will require further research as more data becomes available from the trial,” the study said.

Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group and chief investigator into the trials, told a news conference that the differences between the vaccine doses was “unplanned.”

Pollard also acknowledged that the large separation in efficacy between the results of the different dosage levels could complicate the approval process. “The regulators will decide exactly what their label should say,” Pollard said.

Overall, the AstraZeneca vaccine was 70.4% effective, Reuters reported. The Food and Drug Administration’s floor for minimum level of efficacy is 50%. (RELATED: AstraZeneca Is Pausing Studies On Their Coronavirus Vaccine After Individual Experienced Severe Symptoms)

“The basic message: that the overall efficacy across the trials that are reported here is about 70% but with a clear description of its uncertainty,” Stephen Evans, a professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, told Reuters.

“The statistical uncertainty is that the efficacy could be as low as 55% or as high as 80%. The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines both have efficacies above 90% and are clearly more efficacious under trial conditions,” Evans added, according to Reuters.

While the vaccine is not as effective as Moderna’s or Pfizer’s vaccine — which are both over 90% effective — the AstraZeneca vaccine’s advantage is it is cheaper and easier to distribute, according to Reuters.

Mene Pangalos, head of AstraZeneca’s non-oncology research and development, said the company hopes “that once the regulatory authorities review the data, we can get approval any time from the completion of the submission, which could be any time from the end of this year to early next year,” according to Reuters.

Professor of vaccinology at the University of Oxford Sarah Gilbert said the news made it “probably the best day of 2020” for her, according to Sky News. “Following the demonstration of vaccine efficacy in many preclinical studies, we now have clear evidence of efficacy in the trial results presented in a peer-reviewed publication today. Now under regulatory review, we hope that this vaccine will shortly be in use to start saving lives,” she added.