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The lower dose of COVID vaccine, 90% effective during clinical trials conducted by Oxford and AstraZeneca, was given to younger subjects than the higher dose, which showed lower efficacy, says Operation Warp Speed chief. Moncef Slaoui, quoted by Bloomberg.
The vaccine developed with the University of Oxford has been shown to be 90% effective in cases where half a dose was initially given, followed by a full dose booster, the researchers said Monday. Slaoui specified that this regimen was administered to participants of a group whose age was limited to 55 years.
The researchers wondered why a lower dose of the vaccine seemed to be more effective than a higher one. Most of the people in the study received either a placebo or two full-dose regimens, with a 62% effectiveness. This group included people over the age of 55, Slaoui explained.
“I don’t think the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will have a positive view of a study in which the dose, age group or other variable was changed in the middle of the trial, either by mistake or deliberately.” said Geoffrey Porges, an analyst at SVB Leerink, who believes the FDA will not approve this vaccine.
AstraZeneca has stated that the data will be published and subject to timely expert review. Shares of the company fell as much as 2.2% in New York.
When AstraZeneca released the clinical trial results on Monday, it did not provide a breakdown by age for the two groups. Slaoui said half of the starting dose was given to the participants by mistake.
“There are a number of variables that we need to understand and see what the role each of them played in achieving the difference in effectiveness,” Slaoui said.
Older people have a weaker response than some younger people to some vaccines, such as flu shots. Results from a phase 2 study of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine published last week in the Lancet medical journal confirmed a strong response to the vaccine in the elderly.
Publisher: Monica Bonea
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