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Oxford University's Coronavirus Vaccine Found To Be 62-90% Effective

Oxford University's Coronavirus Vaccine Found To Be 62-90% Effective

Australia has already ordered 30 million doses of this vaccine candidate.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

New efficacy data has been released about the University of Oxford's coronavirus vaccine candidate.

A large-scale study has found that it's between 62 to 90 per cent effective. More than 20,000 volunteers took part in the study, with around half in the UK and the other half in Brazil.

The research showed that 30 people contracted coronavirus after having two doses of the vaccine while 101 caught the disease after having been given a placebo injection.

Despite not being as effective as those developed by Moderna (95 percent) and Pfizer (90 percent) the Australian government has already pre-ordered 30 million doses. According to reports, the Oxford vaccine is much cheaper and can be stored at normal refrigeration level, whereas others require refrigeration at well-below freezing.

The Oxford University vaccine trials have been a success.
PA

"The vaccine can be stored, transported and handled at normal refrigerated conditions for at least six months and administered within existing healthcare settings," AstraZeneca said in a statement.

AstraZeneca believes the key to success in their vaccine candidate was that they will be able to administer it faster than its competitors.

While its effectiveness was found to be around 70 percent, researchers said this rose to 90 when volunteers were initially given half a dose followed by a full one. Researchers say it's not clear as to why this was the case.

AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot said: "Being able to vaccinate more people faster is a really a big plus.

"The vaccine's simple supply chain and our no-profit pledge and commitment to broad, equitable and timely access means it will be affordable and globally available, supplying hundreds of millions of doses on approval."

The vaccine must now go through a series of stages before it can be administered to the general public. Once it is approved by regulators, it will be allowed to be mass produced in Australia and given out in a tiered system.

Moderna's vaccine was found to be around 95 percent effective.
PA

This comes just after the US company Moderna revealed that its trial had also been a success. Dr Stephen Hoge, the president of Moderna, said he 'grinned ear to ear' when the results came in.

Speaking to the BBC, he said: "I don't think any of us really hoped that the vaccine would be 94 percent effective at preventing Covid-19 disease, that was really a stunning realisation."

There is also the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine on offer, with results from clinical trials indicating it is 90 percent effective.

Speaking about the breakthrough, Dr Albert Bourla, the chairman of Pfizer, said he hoped this would help bring about an end to the suffering being experienced around the world.

He said: "Today is a great day for science and humanity. The first set of results from our Phase 3 Covid-19 vaccine trial provides the initial evidence of our vaccine's ability to prevent Covid-19.

"With today's news, we are a significant step closer to providing people around the world with a much-needed breakthrough to help bring an end to this global health crisis."

Featured Image Credit: PA