The experimental vaccine against COVID-19 from the University of Oxford and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has an initial efficacy in protecting against the disease of 70.4%
but can reach up to 90%
, both reported this Monday.
This conclusion was drawn after a preliminary analysis of data from phase 3 trials of this antidote, with thousands of participants.
It is the third experimental vaccine in an advanced study phase that already offers known encouraging results, along with those developed by the US pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna.
[Get the latest on the coronavirus pandemic]
AstraZeneca assured that it is
already working on preparing requests for authorizations
for emergency use to the regulatory bodies of several countries.
The effectiveness rate of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine can vary depending on the delivery regimen of the administered doses, the British university said.
[Oxford and AstraZeneca Resume UK Testing of Possible COVID-19 Vaccine After Temporary Hiatus]
The data shows that it was 90% effective if half a dose was given first and then a full dose.
On the other hand, if two complete doses are used, the efficacy turns out to be 62%.
AstraZeneca called the product
"highly effective in preventing COVID-19"
.
In addition, it indicated that there were no “hospitalizations or severe cases of the disease” among participants who received doses.
An independent security panel monitored the data, it added.
[Pfizer says its COVID-19 vaccine is 95% safe and effective after completing its trials]
The trials have so far involved
24,000 participants
from different ethnic and geographic groups in the UK, Brazil and South Africa, the University of Oxford said.
Among them, a total of 131 positive cases of COVID-19 were detected.
Trials are still underway in other countries, including the United States, with about 36,000 more participants.
The head of the vaccine trials, Andrew Pollard, said: "We have discovered with enthusiasm that one of our dosing regimens can be around 90% effective and if this dosage is used, more people could be vaccinated" with the planned supply.
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700 million doses by the end of April 2021
Despite these promising preliminary results,
more studies will be needed
to determine how long the protection guaranteed by this vaccine lasts and if its degree of efficacy is confirmed.
This was also recalled on Monday by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson: “What exciting news [to know that] the Oxford vaccine has proven to be so effective in trials.
There are still more security checks ahead
, but these are fantastic results, ”he wrote in a tweet.
AstraZeneca reported that it will have 200 million doses ready by the end of this year, a figure that will rise to 700 million by the end of April 2021, according to our sister network NBC News.
[When will the coronavirus vaccine be available, who will receive it first, and when will their turn come]
Last week, the US pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna assured that their experimental vaccines have an efficacy, respectively, of 95% and 94.5% (the latter, preliminary).
Pfizer has already applied for authorization for emergency use from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The coronavirus vaccination campaign in the United States could begin in the United States in mid-December,
just 24 hours after the FDA grants emergency authorization
, reported Moncef Slaoui, the chief scientific advisor to the government vaccination program "Operation Warp Speed ”, to NBC News.
With information from NBC News.