The coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca is safe and effective, interim results from phase 3 trials confirmed.
On 23 November, AstraZeneca already announced that the vaccine is 70% effective in preventing a Covid-19 infection. Belgium ordered 7.5 million doses of the vaccine.
The results are the first full peer-reviewed efficacy results that are published for a Covid-19 vaccine, and were published in the renowned medical journal The Lancet on Tuesday.
The publication in The Lancet is based on a Phase 3 study of the AZD1222 vaccine among 11,636 participants in the United Kingdom and Brazil.
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According to the publication, the vaccine was well tolerated and there were no serious side effects, with no hospitalisations or severe disease reported in the Covid-19 vaccine group 21 days after administration of the first dose. In the control group, ten people were hospitalised, one of whom eventually died.
"This publication proves that this new vaccine is safe and effective," said Andrew Pollard, principal investigator of the vaccine trials at Oxford University.
"We are grateful to all the volunteers who have worked with us over the last eight months to reach this milestone," he added.
The data has already been submitted to medicines authorities worldwide for (conditional) approval.
Additionally, AstraZeneca has also already applied to the World Health Organisation (WHO) for an emergency procedure to make the vaccine available to developing countries.
Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times
