AstraZeneca updated its data late Wednesday on the effectiveness of its coronavirus vaccine candidate amid U.S. concern about misleading data, but maintained that the vaccine provides strong protection against the potentially deadly virus.
The drugmaker said its vaccine showed 76% efficacy against symptomatic disease and 100% against severe disease or the need for hospitalization, CNN reported.
The company also said the vaccine was 85% productive in stopping symptoms in volunteers age 65 and older.
AstraZeneca’s data was made public as a part of a news release, not as a peer review report or an application to the Food and Drug Administration for emergency-use authorization, the company said.
“The primary analysis is consistent with our previously released interim analysis, and confirms that our COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective in adults, including those aged 65 years and over,” said Mene Pangalos, executive vice president for biopharmaceuticals research for AstraZeneca. “We look forward to filing our regulatory submission for emergency use authorization in the U.S. and preparing for the rollout of million of doses across America.”
The numbers aren’t much different from the data AstraZeneca presented Monday, which claimed a 79% efficacy against symptomatic disease and 100% efficacy against severe illness and hospitalization. Those findings drew concerns from an independent monitoring board and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which said they may have been based on outdated data.
