There have been consistent concerns over the AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine which is said to have been allegedly kinked to blood clot as there have been different cases being reported in some European companies.
This has federal health officials with the sentiment that the big pharma may have included “outdated information” as well as providing an “incomplete view of the efficacy data”.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said that it was notified alongside the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority alongside AstraZeneca on Monday by the Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) over the growing concerns about “information released by AstraZeneca on initial data from its COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial.”
“We urge the company to work with the DSMB to review the efficacy data and ensure the most accurate, up-to-date efficacy data be made public as quickly as possible,” said the agency, in the unusually timed announcement.
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A spokesperson for AstraZeneca could not immediately be reached for comment.
The company on Monday announced that a U.S. clinical trial which involved some 32,000 people who took the vaccine had 79% efficacy in preventing the COVID-19 illness and was found to be safe.
The drug company said it would continue analyzing the data and prepare its request for emergency authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, adding another vaccine option for Americans.
Different European countries such as Denmark, Germany, France and Italy and other countries in South-East Asia have halted the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine as reports of recipients developing rare blood clot conditions starts emerging.
The U.S. trials identified no increased risk of serious blood clotting. European and U.K. medicine regulators had already endorsed the shot and said the clotting issues were not proven to be linked to it.
Shares of AstraZeneca climbed on that positive news on Monday while the World Health Organization maintains a positive sentiment over the issue stating that investigations will be continued to identify the direct link between the AstraZeneca’s vaccines and the blood clot side effects.
