World Health Organization officials said during a news briefing in Geneva on Friday that more information and research is needed to understand whether a new trial is needed to test the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca vaccine dosage schedule and the effectiveness of low doses.
“The first thing to say is that what we saw is a press release,” said Catherine O’Brien, director of immunization, vaccines and biological at WHO. “And really the next most important step now is that the data really needs to be evaluated on the basis of more than a press release.”
He said that is all that can be included in the publication, and that it needs to be reviewed in light of the data and questions asked about the data that may come up during the review.
“It’s difficult to weigh in,” said O’Brien. “I think what we can emphasize is that from what we understand about the press release, there’s been some interesting observation, but there are a lot of reasons that made the observation worth considering.”
More information is needed at the hearing, including an assessment of the immune response, he said.
WH. Soumya Swaminathan, the chief scientist at Dr. BHO, agreed with O’Brien, saying that all that is known is from the news release, and that it seems that less than half a thousand people were given half the dose, then The full dose of the vaccine.
It is also understood that no one over the age of 55 was in that group. There were a large number in the group given the two full doses and there were different age groups.
“It’s very difficult to compare these two groups and I would say the numbers are still too small to really come to a definite decision.”
“Now, of course, the advantage of using smaller doses, especially if you are getting more efficacy, is great and you can save on the vaccine and at the same time you can benefit from higher efficacy, but I think that That would be “speculation at this point,” he said.
Swaminatha said they have heard that AstraZeneca would like to have a full hearing on the full dose schedule of half a dose, “if we explore this hypothesis of having better efficacy with a lower dose, it will need a trial.”
Remember: U.S. The Food and Drug Administration requires an efficacy threshold of at least 50%. It is unclear if the FDA will authorize the use of the emergency.
AstraZeneca has yet to reach the U.S. Has not tested its half-strength. But on Thursday, a company spokesman told CNN that their intent was to reduce their U.S. presence. The trials are aimed at incorporating a half-power quantum method, which currently has about 10,000 participants.
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