AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine trial data questioned in U.S.

PanARMENIAN.Net - AstraZeneca may have released outdated information on its latest Covid-19 vaccine trial, giving an “incomplete” picture of its efficacy, a leading U.S. health agency said on Tuesday, March 23, casting doubt on the shot’s potential U.S. rollout and plunging its developers, once again, into controversy, Reuters reports.

The surprise public rebuke from federal health officials comes just one day after interim data from the drugmaker showed better-than-expected results from the U.S. trial. That had been seen as a scientific counter to concerns that have dogged the shot over its effectiveness and possible side effects.

The vaccine, developed with Oxford University, was 79% effective in preventing symptomatic illness in the large trial that also took place in Chile and Peru, according to the data. It was also 100% effective against severe or critical forms of the disease and hospitalization, and posed no increased risk of blood clots.

The Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB), an independent committee overseeing the trial, has "expressed concern that AstraZeneca may have included outdated information from that trial, which may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data," the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) said in a statement bit.ly/3scE3ji released after midnight in the United States.

“We urge the company to work with the DSMB to review the efficacy data and ensure the most accurate, up-to-date efficacy data be made public as quickly as possible,” it said, adding that the DSMB had informed AstraZeneca of its concerns.

Health authorities in Armenia said earlier that the country is planning to acquire the AstraZeneca jabs too, alongside the Sputnik V shots.