Updated Mar 23, 2021 - Health

NIAID: AstraZeneca "may have included outdated information" on COVID vaccine

Rebecca Falconer

A healthcare worker holds a vial of AstraZeneca coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at the Pentland Medical Practice on January 7, 2021 in Currie, Scotland. — A healthcare worker holds a vial of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine at the Pentland Medical Practice in Currie, Scotland, in January. Photo: Russell Cheyne - WPA Pool/Getty Images

NIAID said early Tuesday it's "concerned" that AstraZeneca "may have included outdated information" from a trial of its COVID-19 vaccine that "may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data."

Why it matters: The statement comes after the company announced the vaccine it developed with the University of Oxford was found to be 79% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and 100% effective against severe disease and hospitalization in a Phase III trial.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease added it's urging AstraZeneca to work with its monitoring board "to review the efficacy data and ensure the most accurate, up-to-date efficacy data be made public as quickly as possible."
The vaccine has struggled to earn widespread public trust following a pause in clinical trials last September. Some European nations halted the shot over concerns that patients receiving it experienced blood clots.

The big picture: The World Health Organization and over 50 governments have already approved the vaccine, but it has yet to receive authorization from the U.S.

AstraZeneca did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details throughout.

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NIAID: AstraZeneca "may have included outdated information" on COVID vaccine

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