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Results from the US trial of the OxfordAstraZeneca Covid vaccine confirm that the vaccine is both safe and highly effective. The vaccine was 79% effective at stopping symptomatic Covid disease, and 100% effective at preventing people from falling seriously ill. There were no safety issues regarding blood clots. These results come against a backdrop of ongoing scepticism in Europe. In France alone, surveys have suggested that 61% of French people think the AstraZeneca vaccine is unsafe. Sarah Gilbert, Professor of Vaccinology at Oxford University and co-designer of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine, describes how the trial and efficacy rates are slightly different between the US and UK findings, and how the complex messaging around the risks of the vaccine in Europe may have contributed to a certain measure of anti-vaccine sentiment there. Photo: A vial labelled with the AstraZeneca coronavirus disease (Covid-19) vaccine Credit: Reuters
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