Tag: AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca accused of cherry-picking vaccine study data

WASHINGTON — AstraZeneca may have included “outdated information” in touting the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine in a U.S. study, federal health officials said Tuesday in an unusual public rift that could further erode confidence in the shot.

In response, AstraZeneca said that it is working on more up-to-date information and that the more recent findings are consistent with its initial announcement that the vaccine offered strong protection. It promised an update within 48 hours.

In an extraordinary rebuke, just hours after AstraZeneca on Monday announced its vaccine worked well in the U.S. study, an independent panel that oversees the study scolded the company for cherry-picking data, according to a senior administration official. Continue reading.

U.S. to send AstraZeneca vaccine to Canada and Mexico

Axios logo

The U.S. will send around 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to Canada, and 2.5 million to Mexico, Reuters reports.

Why it matters: This is the first time President Biden has agreed to share doses purchased by the U.S. with other countries.

  • The U.S. has come under increasing pressure for refusing to export doses, including the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has not yet been approved in the U.S. and is not expected to play a major role in the U.S. vaccine rollout.

Details: The deal comes in the form of a loan, with the U.S. sending doses to Canada and Mexico now with the expectation that they will return doses to the U.S. later this year. Continue reading.

European regulator says AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine is ‘safe and effective,’ but link to rare blood clots cannot be ruled out

Washington Post logo

BERLIN — Europe’s medical regulator concluded Thursday that AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine is “safe and effective,” but it could not rule out a link to a small number of rare and unusual blood clot cases — an assessment that opened the way for European countries to restart paused inoculation programs, while not fully allaying fears surrounding side effects.

The European Medicines Agency said it investigated 25 cases, including nine deaths, that involved particularly rare blood clots: one type of brain clot and another condition that clogs multiple veins in the body. The agency noted that was out of the 20 million people in Europe and Britain who have received the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.

“A causal link with the vaccine is not proven, but is possible and deserves further analysis,” the agency concluded. Continue reading.

AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine study paused after one illness

Late-stage studies of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate are on temporary hold while the company investigates whether a recipient’s “potentially unexplained” illness is a side effect of the shot.

In a statement issued Tuesday evening, the company said its “standard review process triggered a pause to vaccination to allow review of safety data.”

AstraZeneca didn’t reveal any information about the possible side effect except to call it “a potentially unexplained illness.” The health news site STAT first reported the pause in testing, saying the possible side effect occurred in the United Kingdom. Continue reading.

A major coronavirus vaccine trial paused over ‘unexplained illness’

Washington Post logo

Human tests of a coronavirus vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford have been put on hold pending a review of safety data triggered by a “potentially unexplained illness,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday. The news comes as President Trump continued to assert that his administration could produce a vaccine by November, although such a statement contradicts the timeline laid out by health officials in his administration. View the free post from The Washington Post here.