Astra-Oxford vaccine prevents average of 70% of Covid-19 cases

A Covid-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca Plc prevented a majority of people from getting the disease but fell short of the high bar set by Pfizer Inc. and Moderna Inc., according to initial results of a large trial.

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The vaccine stopped an average of 70% of participants in a study from falling ill, an early analysis of the data show. The findings were reviewed after 131 trial participants contracted Covid-19, and are based on two different dosing regimes.

Those results look less promising than data from Moderna, which said its shot stopped 94.5% of trial participants from falling ill, according to early data. Pfizer, which is working with German partner BioNTech SE, said its vaccine candidate prevented 95% of symptomatic infections.

Also Read: Oxford’s Covid-19 vaccine safe in older adults, induces immune response: Lancet

Despite the lower efficacy, the British shot has some advantages when it comes to distribution. While the other two have to be stored frozen, the Astra-Oxford jab can be kept at refrigerator temperature, which would make it easier to transport and store globally, particularly in lower and middle-income countries. It also comes at a potentially lower cost.

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