The Guardian: Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine has 70% efficacy, full trial data shows
“The Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine has efficacy of 90% in a small group who got a half-dose first, but only 62% in the majority, full trial data newly published in The Lancet has confirmed. The results may create a quandary for regulatory bodies, which will have to decide on how the vaccine should be used if they approve it…” (Boseley, 12/8).

STAT: Detailed data on AstraZeneca-Oxford Covid-19 vaccine show it has moderate efficacy
“…The results confirm that two standard doses of the vaccine were 62% effective in preventing symptomatic Covid-19 disease in some trials. But when efficacy data from the trials were combined — including trials in which volunteers received a low dose followed by a standard dose of vaccine — the vaccine was deemed to be 70% efficacious. Among only volunteers who received a low dose followed by a standard dose of vaccine, the vaccine had 90% efficacy. It’s still not clear why efficacy in this group — which did not include anyone over the age of 55 — was so high. Some experts even wonder if it is the result of the play of chance, and not a true difference…” (Branswell/Herper, 12/8).

Washington Post: AstraZeneca vaccine details published in Lancet, but data suggests need for more trials
“…Researchers also are still studying which dose regimen can produce the greatest protection. Still, the results show a safe, well-tolerated and effective vaccine, and one that is cheaper — at $2 or $3 a dose — and easier to manufacture, transport, and store than its competitors, Maria Deloria Knoll of the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health wrote in a commentary accompanying the article in The Lancet…” (Booth/Johnson, 11/8).

Additional coverage of the vaccine study results is available from Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, and Nature.