AstraZeneca: US data shows vaccine effective for all adults

AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine provided strong protection against sickness and eliminated hospitalizations and deaths from the disease, including in older adults, in final-stage U.S. testing, the company announced Monday.

AstraZeneca said its experts did not identify any safety concerns related to the vaccine, including finding no increased risk of rare blood clots identified in Europe. The question now is whether the findings will help rebuild public confidence in the vaccine around the world, as the company seeks to win clearance in the United States

In a statement, AstraZeneca said its COVID-19 vaccine was 79% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and was 100% effective in stopping severe disease and hospitalization, though it has not yet published full data so it’s unclear if there were enough severe cases to make that finding significant. Investigators said the vaccine worked across adults of all ages, including older people — something experts wanted better data on.

AstraZeneca’s interim results are based on 141 COVID-19 cases, but officials declined to tell reporters during a news conference Monday how many were in study volunteers who received the vaccine and how many in those who received dummy shots.

“These findings reconfirm previous results observed,” said Ann Falsey, of the University of Rochester School of Medicine, who helped lead the trial. “It’s exciting to see similar efficacy results in people over 65 for the first time.”