The 70% figure came from combining a smaller group of people who received an unintentionally lower dose of the vaccine which produced 90% efficacy, and a larger group who received a higher dosage, showing only 62% effectiveness.Chief of the White House's Operation Warp Speed, Moncef Slaoui, and others in the U.S. have expressed concern over the age group tested, saying the 90% efficacy was only shown for the lowest risk group, which numbered 2,741 people below the age of 55.
Pascal Soriot, the CEO of AstraZeneca, confirmed to Bloomberg on Thursday that the British pharmaceutical giant will likely run an additional global trial to evaluate the efficacy of its Covid-19 vaccine.The company has pushed back against the criticism, emphasizing monitoring of the study by the external Data Safety Monitoring Board and the fact that the data released Monday constituted mere interim results and that more data would follow.
This particular vaccine is seen as crucial for emerging markets due to its relative ease of manufacturing and transport, and its low cost compared to potential competitors. Jim O'Neill, former chief economist at Goldman Sachs and now the chair of U.K. think tank Chatham House, said he hoped the confusion over the results didn't "muddy the waters." He mentioned anti-vaccination activists, a vocal fringe who oppose inoculations. They believe, contrary to scientific evidence, that ingredients in a vaccine can cause harm to the body.
Source: Healthcare Press (healthcarepress.net)
We can't let a British company succeed in undercutting American profit hungry drug companies