BackAstraZeneca to test if longer wait between two COVID vaccine doses works better
The trial data published by AstraZeneca and Oxford raised questions after one arm of the study that received a half-dose followed by a full-dose of vaccine produced an efficacy of 90%, compared with 62% for two standard doses.
PremiumAstraZeneca Plc plans to conduct a global study to find the optimal interval between the two doses of its coronavirus vaccine. "The new trial will investigate a two-month gap between shots to determine whether it can provide better efficacy," chief executive Pascal Soriot told a group of European newspapers Tuesday.
The trial data published by AstraZeneca and Oxford raised questions after one arm of the study that received a half-dose followed by a full-dose of vaccine produced an efficacy of 90%, compared with 62% for two standard doses.
A panel of scientists behind the U.K. approval said in December that the higher efficacy seen from the half-dose regimen could be attributed to the gap between injections rather than dosing level.
“You get a better efficiency if you get the second dose later," Soriot told the newspapers, including Italy’s La Repubblica. “We are going to do a study in the US and globally to use two-month dose interval to confirm that this is indeed the case."
AstraZeneca executive Mene Pangalos told a UK parliamentary committee earlier this month that further analysis of the trial data suggested an increased interval raised efficacy and that an 8- to 12 week gap looked to be the “sweet spot."
United Kingdom approved the vaccine, developed with the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, last month with a 4-to 12-week dosing interval.
India approved emergency authorisation of Covishield by Serum Institute of India. It is the local version of Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. In India, the interval between the two dosage will be four weeks.
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