23 Mar 2021

US trials confirm AstraZeneca jab safe and effective

From Morning Report, 6:10 am on 23 March 2021

Trials in the United States of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine have confirmed that it's safe and effective.

Around 32,000 people took part, and the vaccine was 79 percent effective at stopping sympomatic infections and 100 percent effective at preventing people from falling seriously ill.

The results, which also dismiss concerns that the vaccine causes blood clots, paves the way for the vaccine's approval in the US.

Sarah Gilbert is a researcher at the University of Oxford, and led the development of the vaccine.

The results come after the roll out of the jab was paused in many European countries due to concerns that it causes thrombosis.

The vaccine is a key part of Europe's path back to normality, but recent polling suggests more than half of Germans think AstraZeneca isn't safe, while in France that figure rises to a dizzying 60 percent.

Yasmeen Serhan is a journalist who has been covering this issue for The Atlantic.

She spoke to Susie Ferguson.