AstraZeneca has released updated data on its novel coronavirus vaccine, revealing that the vaccine is 76% effective against symptomatic COVID-19.
- The vaccine remains 100% effective against hospitalizations and deaths associated with the novel coronavirus, though.
- The data shows the vaccine was 85% effective in stopping symptoms for people 65 years and older, according to the company.
- The new results come days after the drug company released its first set of data that showed the COVID-19 vaccine was 79% effective in stopping symptomatic disease.
What are the concerns of the AstraZeneca vaccine?
United States federal health officials said earlier this week that they were worried about the AstraZeneca vaccine’s data, saying it might have included some “outdated information” that might have made the efficacy rate inaccurate, which I wrote for the Deseret News.
But the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said its safety monitoring board “expressed concern that AstraZeneca may have included outdated information from that trial, which may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data.”
- “We urge the company to work with the DSMB to review the efficacy data and ensure the most accurate, up-to-date efficacy data be made public as quickly as possible,” the statement added.
Will the AstraZeneca vaccine be released in the US?
It’s unclear what happens next. AstraZeneca will likely apply for emergency approval in the United States like other vaccine companies.
But AstraZeneca has faced a number of criticisms since it was first unveiled in Europe. CNN reports that the vaccine “has hit multiple bumps, from news that two volunteers developed neurological symptoms last fall to a stall in the rollout of the vaccine in several European countries amid fears it might have caused blood clots.”