A Covid-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca Plc prevented most people from contracting the disease in a large trial, another promising advance in the quest to end the pandemic.
The vaccine prevented an average of 70% of the participants from getting sick, a preliminary analysis of the data shows. That’s below the high bar set by Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc., but effectiveness jumped to 90% for one of the two dosing regimens, using a half dose followed by a full dose later. The other method showed an effectiveness of 62%.
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“We are excited to see 90% effectiveness of the half-dose and full-dose regimen,” said an Astra spokesperson. “We see a lot of merit in this regimen and will now begin discussions with regulators to incorporate this dose combination for further clinical research.”
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The findings were reviewed after 131 trial participants contracted Covid-19. Among those who received the vaccine, there were no severe cases of Covid-19 in the trial and no participants were hospitalized.
Two regimes
The different results of the two regimens may raise questions about the best way to administer the AstraZeneca injection. The results also look slightly less promising than data from Moderna, which said her injection prevented 94.5% of trial participants from getting sick, according to early data. Pfizer, working with its German partner BioNTech SE, said its vaccine candidate prevented 95% of symptomatic infections.
Read also: Oxford’s Covid-19 Vaccine Safe in Older Adults, Induces an Immune Response: Lancet
Despite the seemingly lower efficacy, the British shot has some advantages when it comes to distribution. While the other two vaccines should be stored frozen, the Astra-Oxford jab can be kept at refrigerator temperature, making it easier to transport and store globally, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. It also has a potentially lower cost.
Analysts at Barclays Plc put consensus expectations on what would be considered an AstraZeneca success at 70% to 90%, following discussions with investors in Europe and the US.
AstraZeneca said it will immediately prepare to submit data to authorities around the world that have a framework in place for early approval. The company said it will seek an emergency use list from the World Health Organization to accelerate the availability of vaccines in low-income countries.
UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky News on Monday that British regulators will now need to make sure the vaccine is “effective and safe”.
“If all goes well, most of the launch will be in the new year,” Hancock said.
Continuous reviews
Vaccine developers won’t know how long protection lasts for several months as they monitor antibody levels to see how quickly or not they fade away. Regulators in the UK and the European Union are conducting accelerated reviews of the results of Astra and Pfizer, which has applied for an emergency use authorization in the US.
Astra and Oxford have been among the fastest-moving vaccine developers since the beginning of the pandemic. After spending years working on a vaccine against Covid-related Middle East respiratory syndrome, the Oxford scientists had an advantage that allowed them to move quickly to create a vaccine.
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