AstraZeneca releases Covid-19 vaccine data demonstrating 76% efficacy

Despite the additional cases, the performance of the vaccine was in line with what AstraZeneca reported first.

The London-based drug company had started fire earlier this week after it provided preliminary data from the trial showing that its vaccine was 79% effective in 141 subjects.

An independent study committee said the data was outdated, prompting the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to issue an unusual statement highlighting the experts’ concerns.

The storm contributed to the clouds floating above the bulkhead, which AstraZeneca developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford.

The rollout has been marred by a series of missteps, including the way the partners communicated previous UK research findings. They presented a confusing array of dosage sizes and schedules, a wide variety of efficacy results, and few elderly subjects.

In Europe, AstraZeneca has lagged far behind supply targets, leading to fierce condemnation by European officials and threats of a vaccine export ban as the bloc seeks to secure doses amid rising infections.

Also, more than a dozen European countries had stopped using the vaccine following reports of blood clotting. Most countries have started injecting again after a study found no link between the vaccine and clotting events and repeated repeatedly that the benefits of the vaccine outweighed its potential risks.

Earlier this week, NIAID Director Anthony Fauci described AstraZeneca’s latest problem as a “casual flaw”.

Pfizer Inc.

Chief Executive Albert Bourla expressed concern at The Wall Street Journal Health Forum on Tuesday that the turmoil could lead to hesitation in taking Covid-19 vaccines in general.

AstraZeneca’s latest results, released late Wednesday evening in the US, were largely in line with the preliminary findings reported Monday, based on research data from Feb. 17.

Aside from the vaccine being 79% effective, the preliminary results indicated that the vaccine was even more effective in subjects aged 65 and over and that the injection was safe.

The late phase, or phase 3, study had 32,449 subjects in the US, Peru, and Chile. About 20% of them were 65 or older.

The more complete data showed that the vaccine is 85% effective in the older age group. Older adults are considered more vulnerable to severe Covid-19, making them a high priority for vaccinations worldwide.

While AstraZeneca’s latest release covered more cases, the company’s analysis may still be incomplete. AstraZeneca said it was reviewing another 14 cases to see if they should be added to the final count.

In both analyzes, the vaccine was found to provide 100% protection against serious illness and hospitalization, although the number of such severe cases was small.

In the more complete findings, eight study volunteers developed serious illness, all in the group of trial volunteers who received a placebo and not the vaccine, AstraZeneca said.

Health experts say the effectiveness of the shot is strong. Moderna vaccines Inc.

and Pfizer’s partnership with BioNTech SE were 94% or more effective in their studies, while Johnson & Johnson’s was 66%.

The UK and certain other countries have already given AstraZeneca’s photo to people, and many other countries have counted on getting past the pandemic.

The British-Swedish drugmaker has pledged to deliver 3 billion doses this year without taking advantage of the shot.

AstraZeneca said it would submit the findings for peer review and publication in the coming weeks and seek approval for the vaccine from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Executives said Monday they plan to submit their findings to the FDA in mid-April.

“We look forward to submitting our regulatory filings for emergency use in the US and preparing for the rollout of millions of doses across America,” said Mene Pangalos of AstraZeneca, executive vice president for research and development at the field of biopharmaceuticals, in a statement.

Write to Jenny Strasburg at [email protected] and Joseph Walker at [email protected]