The AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is 79 percent effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and is safe for use, a recent study conducted by experts from Columbia University and the University of Rochester in the United States of America has shown.
Over the past few weeks, there has been growing concern about the safety of the vaccine.
Several European and African countries have suspended vaccination with the use of the AstraZeneca doses over a possible link to blood clots.
However, the trial which was published on Monday by AstraZeneca would serve to clarify and ease the tension surrounding the administration of the vaccine.
The results of the trial showed that the vaccine is safe for use with 100 percent efficacy against severe or critical hospitalization and 80 percent efficacy in participants aged 65 years and over.
The trial was conducted on 32,449 participants across 88 trial centers in the US, Peru, and Chile.
The participants were administered two doses of the vaccine within four weeks apart.
Twenty percent of the participants were above or exactly 65 years old.
Approximately sixty percent of the participants had comorbidities associated with an increased risk for progression of severe COVID-19, such as diabetes, severe obesity, or cardiac disease.
“The vaccine was well tolerated, and the independent data safety monitoring board (DSMB) identified no safety concerns related to the vaccine.
“The DSMB conducted a specific review of thrombotic events, as well as cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) with the assistance of an independent neurologist.
“The DSMB found no increased risk of thrombosis or events characterized by thrombosis among the 21,583 participants receiving at least one dose of the vaccine. The specific search for CVST found no events in this trial,” the findings said.
A co-lead principal investigator for the trial and a professor of medicine at the University of Rochester, Ann Falsey, said the findings validate the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as a much-needed additional vaccination option and that it can protect adults of all ages against the virus.
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