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The vaccine against Covid-19 developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford causes an immune response in elderly people, particularly at risk, according to the results published on Thursday 19 November and which confirm announcements already made in October.
These interim results, however, relate to a less advanced stage of development (called phase 2) than those that have been the subject of spectacular announcements over the past ten days by manufacturers BioNTech / Pfizer and Moderna. Both ensured that their vaccine was 95% and 94.5% effective based on the results of the last phase of the clinical trials (Phase 3). These announcements have not yet been the subject of detailed publication in a scientific journal.
The results of phase 2 of the AstraZeneca / University of Oxford project were published on Thursday in the medical journal The Lancet. Main lesson: This vaccine provokes an immune response in older people (over 56 years) identical to that it triggers in younger people (18 to 55 years old).
This observation is important because as mentioned The Lancet, “Older people have a ten times higher risk of developing severe Covid-19, so it is essential that a vaccine to fight this disease is effective in this population group“. “The immune response triggered by vaccines is often weaker in the elderly because the immune system gradually weakens over timeExplained Professor Andrew Pollard, one of the test leaders for the University of Oxford.
The researchers note, however, a limit to their study. The median age in the older group of participants ranged from 73 to 74, and few of them had any health problems. “They may therefore not be representative of the entire elderly population, including people living in specialized institutions or those over 80.“Observes The Lancet. These results should therefore be”confirmed in a larger sample of volunteers, including the elderly with health problems“: This is the goal of the Phase 3 trials currently underway for this vaccine, involving thousands of people.
Phase 2 involved 560 participants (160 from 18 to 55, 160 from 56 to 59 and 240 over 70). They had been divided into different groups where the vaccine or another product was administered, so that they could compare and evaluate the effectiveness of this.
For its part, the Pfizer / BioNTech alliance assured Wednesday that their vaccine was effective in people over the age of 65 according to Phase 3 results, which have yet to be confirmed by their publication.
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