AstraZeneca's vaccine offers 95 % protection against coronavirus, says CEO

The Oxford covid-19 vaccine can "protect 95 per cent of patients" from the virus and is "as effective as the Pfizer and Moderna" alternatives, Pascal Soriot, chief executive of AstraZeneca. The CEO added that the vaccine has achieved "winning formula" for efficacy.

However, the AstraZeneca is yet to make an official statement. In an earlier analysis last month, the vaccine maker had said that their vaccine showed 70 per cent efficacy rate as the average of two dosing regimens.

One of these regimens - a half dose followed by a full dose - showed 90 per cent efficacy. The difference in efficacy rate of two regimens raised questions from health officials worldwide, following which the company had said that they will release a discrete analysis of the final stage trials.

Meanwhile, Mr Soriot said that the vaccine will also be effective against the aggressive new mutant strain of the virus which was first detected in the United Kingdom in September and is currently being transmitted across various parts of the world.

The Oxford vaccine has sought emergency use authorisation from the British government. The vaccine, which will be mass-produced in India by the Serum Institute, has also applied for emergency use in India. On Saturday, reports confirmed that the vaccine will be cleared Drug Controller General of India after clearance received from British authorities.

Reports are also of the view that Oxford-AstraZeneca's vaccine may become the first vaccine to be approved in India for emergency use.

Besides AstraZeneca, US pharma giant Pfizer/BioNTech and indigenous Bharat Biotech have also asked for emergency approval in India.

Considering statement from the CEO while Pfizer is yet to present its data and Bharat Biotech hasn't yet completed Phase III trials, it is likely that the AstraZeneca vaccine will be cleared by the end of this month.

The Oxford vaccine is also expected to be cheaper than the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines as it is likely to cost $2.5 per dose while Pfizer' and Moderna's vaccines cost $20 and $25 respectively.