Thread by @apsmunro

IT WORKS 🥳🎉

Great news from the Oxford/AZ vaccine phase III interim analysis today!

ovg.ox.ac.uk/news/oxford-un…

But if you thought you had questions after previous vaccine announcements, boy oh boy does this leave us wanting more!

Quick thread...

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What are the interim results?

-131 cases in Brazil and the UK
-Overall efficacy 70% for the Oxford vaccine compare to control (MenACYW vaccine)
-No safety concerns identified

BUT

Split by dosing regime:
-2x high dose 62% effective
-Low dose then high dose 90% effective

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That is a truly intriguing finding, and we'll need to see the breakdown of the data to understand the uncertainty around those estimates

I'll leave it for clever immunologists to theorise why a lower dose priming shot might be more effective

But wait, there's more...

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The Oxford/AZ trial is the only one to my knowledge testing for asymptomatic infection (volunteers swab weekly)

Whilst we don't have the data, the press release hints that the vaccine protects against this too

That is a big deal - a vaccine which blocks transmission

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Should we be disappointed the headline number isn't >95% effective straight off the bat?

No

If the low dose prime regime is truly 90% effective, that is amazing

Even if not, this vaccine costs substantially less than mRNA vaccines and can be stored in a normal fridge

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That means rapid roll, out particularly to low resource settings, would be much easier

So - exciting news, with much more exciting data to come

Incredibly proud to be a part of the trial working with amazing people

@southamptonCRF @RDsouthampton

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