AstraZeneca says US trial data shows vaccine is 79 per cent effective, finds no blood clot concerns

Vaccine maker says late-stage US study shows strong protection and no increased risk of a rare blood clot identified in Europe

A US FDA advisory committee will now publicly debate the evidence behind the shots before the agency decides whether to allow emergency use

Reading Time:5 minutes

US scientists found no increased risk of clots among the more than 20,000 people who got at least one dose of the AstraZeneca shot. Reuters

Published: 6:48pm, 22 Mar 2021Updated: 9:26pm, 22 Mar 2021

AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine provided strong protection against disease and complete protection against hospitalisation and death across all age groups in a late-stage US study, the company announced Monday.

AstraZeneca said its experts had also identified no safety concerns related to the vaccine, including a rare blood clot that was identified in Europe. Scientists found no increased risk of clots among the more than 20,000 people who got at least one dose of the AstraZeneca shot.

Although AstraZeneca’s vaccine has been authorised in more than 50 countries, it has not yet been given the green light in the US. The US study comprised more than 30,000 volunteers, of whom two-thirds were given the vaccine while the rest got dummy shots.

In a statement, AstraZeneca said its Covid-19 vaccine had a 79 per cent efficacy rate at preventing symptomatic Covid-19 and was 100 per cent effective in stopping severe disease and hospitalisation. Investigators said the vaccine was effective across all ages, including older people – which previous studies in other countries had failed to establish.

“These findings reconfirm previous results observed,” said Ann Falsey of the University of Rochester School of Medicine, who helped lead the trial. “It’s exciting to see similar efficacy results in people over 65 for the first time.”

Julian Tang, a virologist at the university of Leicester who was unconnected to the study, described it as “good news” for the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x