Upon the world’s first registered SARS-CoV-2 vaccine developed by Russian scientists, many pharmaceutical companies across the world have since conducted vigorous research to develop an effective vaccine for the recent coronavirus strain.
New research published in The Lancet uncovered that Oxford’s COVID-19 vaccine is less effective than previously thought, with an efficiency rate nearly half as much as Pfizer’s vaccine.
According to the publication, Oxford’s phase 3 trials demonstrated that their vaccine was close to 50 percent efficient at protecting against the disease only when given two full doses, while its protection rate, in general, was purportedly estimated at 70 percent for most, but not all patients.
The findings are a drastic difference in comparison to Pfizer’s vaccine, with a purported efficiency rate above 90 percent, nearly identical in terms of efficiency as Russia’s Sputnik V.
“The results presented in this report provide the key findings from our first interim analysis. In future analyses, with more data included as it becomes available, we will investigate differences in key subgroups such as older adults, various ethnicities, doses, timing of booster vaccines, and we will determine which immune responses equate to protection from infection or disease,” said Merryn Voysey, co-author of the study, in a press release.
“Control of the pandemic will only be achieved if the licensing, manufacturing and distribution of these vaccines can be achieved at an unprecedented scale and vaccination is rolled out to those who are vulnerable. Our findings indicate that our vaccine’s efficacy exceeds the thresholds set by health authorities and may have a potential public health impact,” the authors of the study claimed.
The study and its results were funded by numerous public health institutions and private foundations, including the pharmaceutical company involved in the creation of the vaccine.
