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Yesterday, news broke that there were problems with some of AstraZeneca’s vaccine research – there may also have been an error in the manufacturing and design of the research, so it is highly questionable whether we can really speak of an efficiency of the 70 percent. It now appears that new research will be launched to confirm the 90 percent efficiency leg of the two-part trial series, but authorization is still ongoing for the vaccine.
Automaker AstraZeneca even said Monday that its coronavirus vaccine, developed in collaboration with the University of Oxford, was an average 70 percent effective in protecting against the virus in two study segments. This result turned out that the research consisted of two parts: a small group of subjects achieved 90 percent efficacy, and the participants received half a dose first and then a full dose a month later. In the second, larger group, the result was only 62 percent, here the subjects received twice the same full dose. Comparing the two partial results, the vaccine was approximately 70 percent.
The most successful group received only half the dose due to a manufacturing defect and there were no participants over 55 years of age among them. This is not at all from a health point of view, but from a research methodological point of view it is very problematic: the results of the most successful group become invalid, and although the 62% result remains, the efficiency of the 90% is questionable.
AstraZeneca’s CEO said the half dose was not a mistake: As soon as the researchers realized that only that amount would go into the vials on the production line, they changed the research protocol and continued to work accordingly. Thus, the research itself has already evaluated the good dose.
According to a Bloomberg report, AstraZeneca wants to clear up the confusion by conducting brand-new clinical research, which also confirms 90 percent efficiency. According to the manufacturers, it is easier to start completely new experiments than to repeat part of the current experiment. This is because the new research shouldn’t interfere with licensing, as the 62% efficiency is safe, which is still above the World Health Organization’s 50% limit.
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