After Admitting Mistake, AstraZeneca Faces Difficult Questions About Its Vaccine

[applegrove]

After Admitting Mistake, AstraZeneca Faces Difficult Questions About Its Vaccine

Some trial participants only got a partial dose of AstraZeneca’s vaccine. Experts said the company’s spotty disclosures have eroded confidence.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/25/business/coronavirus-vaccine-astrazeneca-oxford.html?action=click&module=Top Stories&pgtype=Homepage

By Rebecca Robbins and Benjamin Mueller

Nov. 25, 2020

"SNIP....

The announcement this week that a cheap, easy-to-make coronavirus vaccine appeared to be up to 90 percent effective was greeted with jubilation. “Get yourself a vaccaccino,” a British tabloid celebrated, noting that the vaccine, developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, costs less than a cup of coffee.

But since unveiling the preliminary results, AstraZeneca has acknowledged a key mistake in the vaccine dosage received by some study participants, adding to questions about whether the vaccine’s apparently spectacular efficacy will hold up under additional testing.

Scientists and industry experts said the error and a series of other irregularities and omissions in the way AstraZeneca initially disclosed the data have eroded their confidence in the reliability of the results.

Officials in the United States have noted that the results were not clear. It was the head of the flagship federal vaccine initiative — not the company — who first disclosed that the vaccine’s most promising results did not reflect data from older people.


.....SNIP"

[marlakay]

1. I think this is why even my neighborhood pharmacist

Told me she isn't taking the first vaccines and will wait, she doesn't want ones rushed through. She owns a small pharmacy for many years and is careful.

I asked her about it beginning of Oct when she gave me flu shot.

[FarPoint]

2. One point...

I appreciate their honesty....

[applegrove]

3. I promoted it the other day as great for poorer countries. I hope they can clean

up their act fast. The MNRNA vaccines ahead of them are inherently unstable outside from a fridge or specialized freezer. I'm sick about it.

[Princess Turandot]

4. Here's a long article from AP on the situation that's free to read..

https://apnews.com/article/international-news-oxford-coronavirus-pandemic-883e783962dc562a99864b4b63de9897

The information about the dose cock-up and some related questions was released just today. But it sounds like they knew about it when they made their announcement on Monday.

Also, they averaged the efficacy of the two types of dosing regimens to come with their released results. But the one with the lower vaccine amount, that showed a 90% effective rate, wasn't given to anyone over 55 years old.

In a surprise, the group of volunteers that got a lower dose seemed to be much better protected than the volunteers who got two full doses. In the low-dose group, AstraZeneca said, the vaccine appeared to be 90% effective. In the group that got two full doses, the vaccine appeared to be 62% effective. Combined, the drugmakers said the vaccine appeared to be 70% effective. But the way in which the results were arrived at and reported by the companies has led to pointed questions from experts.
...

WHAT ABOUT THE RESULTS THEMSELVES?

Experts say the relatively small number of people in the low dose group makes it difficult to know if the effectiveness seen in the group is real or a statistical quirk. Some 2,741 people received a half dose of the vaccine followed by a full dose, AstraZeneca said. A total of 8,895 people received two full doses.

Another factor: none of the people in the low-dose group were over 55 years old. Younger people tend to mount a stronger immune response than older people, so it could be that the youth of the participants in the low-dose group is why it looked more effective, not the size of the dose.
...

[applegrove]

5. Thanks.

[Sancho]

6. Measure twice, jab once I always say...