The effectiveness of the vaccine developed by Swedish-British laboratory AstraZeneca continues to be debated. After several countries have decided to limit its administration to their citizens over 65 years of age, a study to be published on Monday claims that the product would be «less effective against the South African variant», the Financial Times revealed on Saturday. According to Le Parisien, which also cites the randomized study involving a sample of 2,026 people, «the vaccine would be ineffective against mild and moderate forms of the disease caused by this variant». The same source, which explains that the sample is «considered rather low for a task of this type», specifies that the median age of the people recruited was 31 years. Half of them received at least one dose of vaccine, while the other received at least one dose of placebo. If these results were to be confirmed, the study, led by the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa) and the University of Oxford (UK), could «complicate the race to deploy vaccines as new strains emerge», the Financial Times believes. For its part, AstraZeneca reacted this Saturday to this study that it did not dispute. The Swedish-British laboratory wished to recall that its vaccine remained «effective against severe forms of the disease, including those developed by the South African variant» and «in particular when the dosage interval is optimized to 8-12 weeks». «Oxford University and AstraZeneca have started adapting the vaccine against this variant and will advance rapidly through clinical development so that it is ready for Autumn delivery should it be needed», said the spokesperson for AstraZeneca, as quoted by Reuters. Bilan Coronavirus dans le monde 259 465 151 Contaminations 5 174 661 Décès 235 366 205 Guérisons 53.8% de la population mondiale vaccinée
