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LONDON: The Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine is not as effective in fighting mild and moderate cases of the South African coronavirus strain, according to research published in the Financial times.
But in its study, to be published Monday, the drug group said it could still have an effect on severe disease, although there is not enough data yet to make a definitive judgment.
None of the 2,000 participants in the trial developed severe symptoms, the FT said, but AstraZeneca said the sample size was too small to make a full determination.
“We may not be reducing the total number of cases, but there is still protection against death, hospitalization and serious illness,” said Sarah Gilbert, who led the development of the vaccine with the Oxford Vaccine Group.
It could also be “some time” before they determine its effectiveness for older people in fighting the strain, which is a growing presence in Britain, he told BBC television.
“We may have to put it together from a series of studies,” he said.
The researchers are currently working to update the vaccine and “have a version with the South African spike sequence in the works” that they “would very much like” to see ready for the fall, Gilbert said.
UK Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said the government’s strategy to combat the spread of the strain was to continue its mass vaccination program “as quickly as possible”, as well as “evidence of hyperlocal increase” in areas where it is detected.
Britain is in the midst of a massive vaccination campaign, which it sees as the outbreak of one of the worst outbreaks in the world that has recorded more than 112,000 deaths among those who tested positive for the virus.
So far, it has vaccinated more than 11 million people with Pfizer / BioNTech or Oxford / Astrazeneca injections.
The AstraZeneca vaccine has been the source of a nasty dispute with the European Union, which is angry that the Anglo-Swedish firm failed to meet the delivery target agreed with Brussels.
France, Germany, and Switzerland are also among the countries that recommend that the jab not be used in older people due to lack of data.
