The findings of a large United States trial have shown that the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine is 79 percent effective in preventing symptomatic illness and 100 percent effective against severe disease and hospitalisation.
According to a Reuters report, the analysis of the vaccine was published Monday and the study was based on 32,449 participants from a Phase 3 trial in the U.S.
AstraZeneca said it would continue to analyze the data and prepare for the primary analysis to be submitted to the U.S. Food and Drugs Administration for emergency use authorization in the coming weeks.
Countries across the world had temporarily suspended the use of the AstraZeneca shot following reports of blood clots in some already vaccinated people.
Health experts sharply criticized the move, citing a lack of data, while the World Health Organisation (WHO) said the move to suspend the use of vaccine was politically motivated, as much as the jab was safe.
Last week, however, the European Union (EU) countries said they would resume AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccinations after the European Medicine Agency (EMA) said the jab was “safe and effective” and not associated with blood clot risk.
Among the countries scheduled to resume the vaccine including Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia and Bulgaria.
By comparison, Moderna’s vaccine has been found to be more than 94 percent effective in preventing coronavirus, and Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine was found to be 95 percent effective.
