University of Oxford's COVID-19 Vaccine Found 90% Effective

The University of Oxford, in collaboration with AstraZeneca plc, announced interim trial data from its Phase III trials on November 23, 2020, that shows its candidate vaccine, ChAdOx1 nCoV-2019 (AZD1222), is effective at preventing COVID-19, which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus, and offers a high level of protection.

A new phase 3 interim analysis indicates that the vaccine is 70.4% effective when combining data from (2) dosing regimens. In the two different dose regimens, the AZD1222 vaccine's efficacy was 90% in one and 62% in the other.

These data also suggest that this half dose and full-dose regimen could help to prevent transmission of the virus, evidenced by lower rates of asymptomatic infection in the vaccinees, with further information to become available when trial data are next evaluated.

Professor Andrew Pollard, Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group and Chief Investigator of the Oxford Vaccine Trial, said in a press statement: ‘These findings show that we have an effective vaccine that will save many lives. Excitingly, we’ve found that one of our dosing regimens could be around 90% effective, and if this dosing regimen is used, more people could be vaccinated with the planned vaccine supply.'