The AstraZeneca vaccine is 100 percent effective in preventing severe forms of covid-19 and hospitalizations. The vaccine is also safe, says the pharmaceutical company after a study involving people of all ages in the US, Chile and Peru.
The research also shows that the vaccine is 79 percent effective in preventing infections. That’s more than was thought when the vaccine was approved. Then studies showed that the vaccine could prevent 60 to 70 percent of infections.
It was also initially thought that the drug might not work as well for people over the age of 65. But the new study finds it’s just as effective for them.
AstraZeneca claimed shortly afterwards that the effectiveness of the vaccine could increase to 90 percent. That hope was fueled by the initial findings of a new large-scale study. That research has now produced more reliable results. 32,000 volunteers took part, 20,000 of whom received the vaccine and the rest a placebo.
AstraZeneca was ordered to conduct the investigation by the US drug authority FDA. The FDA will review the findings.
No increased risk
A few days ago, the Netherlands and other EU countries decided to resume the administration of AstraZeneca vaccines, because they believe that the benefits far outweigh the risk of developing a combination of thrombosis with a reduced number of platelets.
According to AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford, this risk was examined separately among the more than 20,000 study participants who received at least one dose. This showed that the vaccine does not increase the risk of thrombosis and variants thereof.
In the European Union, 25 people are known who developed thrombosis in combination with a reduced number of platelets after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine. It is now believed that there is a connection with the vaccine, but it is also known how it should be treated.
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