AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine is 100 percent effective in preventing severe disease and hospitalization, according to the results of a long-awaited U.S. trial released early Monday morning. The impressive figures—based on a massive trial which included more than 32,000 participants mostly based in America, but also in Chile and Peru—showed 79 percent efficacy against symptomatic disease and total protection from severe disease. Crucially, the trial identified absolutely no safety concerns and, specifically on the issue of blood clots that caused a wave of panic about the vaccine in some European countries, the independent committee found “no increased risk of thrombosis or events characterized by thrombosis.” The findings will now be sent to the Food and Drug Administration to support an application for emergency authorization of the vaccine.
