LONDON – Positive interim data from the U.S. trial of Astrazeneca plc’s COVID-19 vaccine have added yet more evidence it is effective in older adults and quelled concerns about serious thrombotic events that led countries in Europe to pause use of the vaccine earlier this month. Overall, the vaccine showed 79% efficacy in preventing symptomatic COVID-19, and was 100% effective in preventing serious disease and hospitalization. The effect was comparable across different ethnicities and age groups, with 80% efficacy in participants over 65 years of age. The analysis is based on 141 cases of COVID-19 infection.
CAJICA, Colombia – Countries in Latin America have joined those in Europe expressing mixed reactions about continuing their vaccination plans with the AZD-1222 SARS-CoV-2 vaccine developed by Astrazeneca plc and the University of Oxford, following reports of alleged adverse events.
A U.S. Senate committee met March 18 to review the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, during which former FDA commissioner David Kessler said the Trump administration’s vaccine contracts were expensive, but effective in ensuring a robust supply. Nonetheless, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said one vaccine manufacturer had recently voiced an interest in charging more on a per-dose basis for its vaccine, and suggested that the cost of booster shots should perhaps be examined anew by the Biden administration.
LONDON – Astrazeneca plc’s COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective and the benefits well outweigh any risks, according to a review carried out by the EMA, following reports of blood clots in people who received the vaccine.
After working 24/7 to develop a COVID-19 vaccine in a historic timeframe and scale up manufacturing at an unprecedented rate, some vaccine manufacturers are now facing what appears to be a concerted Russian misinformation campaign akin to those used in the last two U.S. presidential campaigns.
With COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing still scaling up and the scarcity of some supplies, most of the vaccine doses available so far have been distributed in 75 countries while 115 countries are still waiting, World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said at the Global C19 Vaccine Supply Chain and Manufacturing Summit.
After working 24/7 to develop a COVID-19 vaccine in a historic timeframe and scale up manufacturing at an unprecedented rate, some vaccine manufacturers are now facing what appears to be a concerted Russian misinformation campaign akin to those used in the last two U.S. presidential campaigns, as well as in Great Britain and possibly in France.
Data from two Novavax Inc. clinical trials show its COVID-19 vaccine had 100% protection against severe disease, including hospitalization and death, paving the way for an emergency use authorization submission in the U.S. Mild and moderate COVID-19 was dramatically reduced in both studies, according to the data, and some efficacy was confirmed in variant strains.
What started with Austrian regulators suspending use of one batch of Astrazeneca plc’s COVID-19 vaccine has expanded into precautionary holds in Denmark and other EU countries as PRAC, the EMA’s safety committee, investigates whether blood clots, which have resulted in at least two deaths in Europe, are connected to the vaccine.
Positive COVID-19 efficacy numbers from Vir Biotechnology Inc. and Glaxosmithkline plc (GSK) has prompted them to immediately seek an emergency use authorization (EUA) with the FDA and similar authorizations in other countries for their monoclonal antibody, VIR-7831. Meanwhile, the phase III Remdacta study of Actemra/RoActemra (tocilizumab) plus Veklury (remdesivir) vs. placebo plus Veklury, from Roche Holding AG and Gilead Sciences Inc., missed its primary endpoint in treating hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia receiving standard of care.
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