US Walks Back Efficacy Claims About AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 Vaccine, Citing Cherry-Picked Data

Just after midnight on March 23, the United States National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases announced that the independent review board overseeing AstraZeneca’s large-scale clinical trial had expressed concerns regarding the results, which demonstrated the company’s vaccine was highly effective at preventing COVID-19 illness. Members of the board suggested that AstraZeneca included only those statistics that were favorable to the vaccine, bypassing data that did not demonstrate effectiveness. While the AstraZeneca immunization is not yet available in the US, this damage to the company’s reputation does not bode well for the US Food and Drug Administration’s review of AstraZeneca’s application for Emergency Use Authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine. Click here to read more.