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AstraZeneca may have included 'outdated' data in vaccine trials: US regulator

WION Web Team
WorldUpdated: Mar 23, 2021, 03:40 PM IST
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A file photo of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine Photograph:(Reuters)

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The vaccine developed by Oxford University is 80 per cent effective against the virus among the elderly, and poses no blood clot risks, AstraZeneca had said

According to the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), AstraZeneca may have provided an incomplete view of efficacy data for its COVID-19 vaccine from its trial in the United States.

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"The Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB), an independent committee overseeing the trial, has expressed concern that AstraZeneca may have included outdated information from that trial, which may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data," NIAID said in a statement. 

NIAID is headed by US infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci and is part of the National Institutes of Health with the AstraZeneca vaccine under scanner by health officials.

The vaccine developed by Oxford University is 80 per cent effective against the virus among the elderly, and poses no blood clot risks, the company had said on Tuesday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel while announcing a five-day lockdown in the country had said she backed the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's decision to ban AstraZeneca vaccines produced in the bloc from being exported unless it delivers more of the 90 million doses it agreed to supply in the first quarter of 2021. 

"I support Commission President Ursula von der Leyen," Merkel said, adding, "We have a problem with AstraZeneca."

However, according to British pollsters YouGov, a majority of people in the biggest EU states view the AstraZeneca vaccine as unsafe.