AstraZeneca Coronavirus Jab Proves 79% Effective in US Trial

By Staff, Agencies

The vaccine against COVID-19 coronavirus developed and manufactured by AstraZeneca and the Oxford University proved to be 79 percent effective in preventing the symptomatic disease, the US study results published on Monday suggest.

The inoculation was also found to be 100 percent effective in defending the recipients from developing serious symptoms.

The massive trial included 32,000 volunteers, about one in five of those aged 65 or more, with the jab showing comparable effectiveness for younger and older groups.

The study did not find any issues related to blood clotting, a major problem that had come into the spotlight in recent days.

The company employed an independent panel to look into the matter, which found "no increased risk of thrombosis or events characterized by thrombosis among the 21,583 participants receiving at least one dose of the vaccine."

A number of EU countries, including Germany and France, suspended the use of the vaccine last week after reports that the vaccine caused a rare thrombosis, including several fatalities.

However, the European Medicines Agency consistently advocated for the vaccine's safety, resulting in some of the member states resuming its use.

The US has not authorized the AstraZeneca jab for emergency use yet, but the data published on Monday could clear the way to an eventual green light.