AstraZeneca, Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine Up to 90 Percent Effective in Late-Stage Trials

AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford announced earlier today that their COVID-19 vaccine boasts average efficacy of 70 percent and is well tolerated with no serious treatment-related adverse events, reports the Wall Street Journal . Efficacy with AZD1222 was 62 percent when administered as two full doses but increased to 90 percent when a half dose was administered followed by a full dose, based on data from large clinical studies in the United Kingdom and Brazil. Late-stage U.S. trials are ongoing, and the partners are unlikely to seek FDA approval for the vaccine until they have those results. Still, the news is promising for near-term availability of a third vaccine developed by Western manufacturers. AZD1222 will not require subzero storage temperatures. AstraZeneca and Oxford also have vowed to distribute the product across a much broader geographic footprint and to forfeit any profits during the pandemic. While the collaborators will wait to apply for FDA approval, they do plan to request emergency-use authorization from the World Health Organization to initiate distribution in low-income countries. Pending approval, a senior AstraZeneca executive said, the company aims to make the vaccine available by the end of the year.