AstraZeneca vaccine details published; data suggests need for more trials

LONDON » Scientists at AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford on Tuesday became the first vaccine developers to publish their full data in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, confirming earlier claims that the vaccine is 70% effective overall.

The study results, published in the British medical journal Lancet, answered many questions - but not all - about the AstraZeneca vaccine.

It remains uncertain how well the vaccine works in those older than 55, a crucial group because most serious illness, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19, the illness that can be caused by the novel coronavirus, occur among the oldest patients.

Researchers also are still studying which dose regimen can produce the greatest protection.

Still, the results show a safe, well-tolerated and effective vaccine, and one that is cheaper - at $2 or $3 a dose - and easier to manufacture, transport and store than its competitors, wrote Maria Deloria Knoll of John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in a commentary accompanying the article in Lancet.

The researchers said they are now submitting their data to regulators for approval to deploy the vaccine in mass immunization campaigns in Brazil, Britain, India, countries in Europe and other places.

The AstraZeneca vaccine, if approved, will compete with others, including one produced by the American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, which is reported to be 95 percent effective.

The Pfizer vaccine was approved for emergency use in Britain, and the first injections in a massive campaign began Tuesday. It is now being reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration, with possible approval by week’s end. Another vaccine, made by U. S.- based Moderna, is also more than 90% effective.

The Pfizer- BioNTech and Moderna vaccines require special handling and must be kept on dry ice or in high-end freezers at subAntarctic temperatures of minus 70 degrees Celsius.

The AstraZeneca- Oxford vaccine, however, can be stored long term at ordinary refrigerator temperatures, which could ease its distribution throughout the world.

In Lancet, the AstraZeneca and Oxford scientists report on the interim results from two clinical trials run in Britain and Brazil, involving 11,636 participants - half got the vaccine and half received a placebo.

For the volunteers who got two full doses, the vaccine was 62% effective in protecting recipients from COVID-19 symptoms.