-->

Coping with COVID: Rival vaccine from AstraZeneca shows high effective rate in late-stage trials

By Madison Parry

Promising results from new COVID-19 vaccine by pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca may soon be released. Late-stage trials show an up to 90 percent effective rate and may also prove to be cheaper and easier to distribute than other COVID-19 vaccines.

Another COVID-19 vaccine, this time from multinational pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, is gaining attention for its positive late-stage trial results.

Interim analysis of conducted trials show a 90 percent effective rate for the vaccine, according to trial data from the U.K. and Brazil.

While it has not officially been approved for distribution yet, AstraZeneca is the third drug company manufacturing a COVID-19 vaccine to report late-stage results.

Pfizer and Moderna were the first to report preliminary results, each revealing their rival vaccines as 95 percent effective.

Developed by Oxford University researchers, results show there have been no hospitalizations or severe COVID-19 cases from those who received AstraZeneca’s vaccine. Additionally, unlike Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccine, AstraZeneca’s does not require the same amount of temperature care.

Whereas the former two have to be stored at a very low, consistent temperature, AstraZeneca’s does not. Because of this, distribution of the vaccine is expected to be significantly easier to distribute across the globe.