Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Dec 04, 2025

Oxford, WHO scientists say more data needed on AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine trials

Oxford, WHO scientists say more data needed on AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine trials

More data is needed from AstraZeneca's Covid vaccine trials beyond what was presented in a press release, experts from the WHO and Oxford University said.

More data will be needed from AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine trials to determine the drug’s safety and efficacy following concerns from experts in the U.S., scientists from the University of Oxford and the World Health Organizations said on Friday.

“There’s always a problem in announcing scientific results by press release, and that is that you don’t have all the data out there and people aren’t able to really look and think about the data properly,” Sir John Bell, the Regius professor of medicine at Oxford University, told CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Friday.

Shares of AstraZeneca dipped this week after the company announced interim results from its coronavirus vaccine trials on Monday. The British pharmaceutical giant said its vaccine, which it’s developing alongside Oxford, was 70% effective after it combined results from two different dosing regimes.

One smaller group of people, all under the age of 55, received an unintentionally lower dose of the vaccine followed by a full dose, and a larger group of people received two full doses of the vaccine. The vaccine was found to be 90% effective in the group that received the smaller dose while the larger group showed only 62% effectiveness.

Some U.S. experts, including Moncef Slaoui, chief of the White House’s Operation Warp Speed, said they were concerned about the differing ages between the two groups. Amid those concerns, Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca, told Bloomberg on Thursday that the company will likely begin a new study to examine the lower dosage regime.

“The full data will be published in the medical journal so people can examine it. Taking snippets of data is not a helpful way to make an analysis of what’s actually going on,” Bell told CNBC on Friday.

Other British government ministers and experts have also backed AstraZeneca’s vaccine, noting that drug regulators who have more information on the vaccine’s late-stage clinical trials will ultimately have the final say. Britain asked its medicine regulator on Friday to assess the vaccine for a temporary supply, which means the vaccine could be distributed in the country before the end of the year.


That process could take longer in the U.S., however, amid recent concerns. Bell told CNBC that he predicts the UK could be “substantially vaccinated” by spring of next year.

Kate O’Brien, director of immunization, vaccines and biologicals at WHO, agreed with Bell during the organization’s press briefing earlier on Friday, saying that there’s only a “limited amount that can be said in a press release” and that more information, including how well the vaccine builds an immune response, is needed.

“It’s difficult to weigh in on this,” O’Brien said from the WHO’s Geneva headquarters. “From what we understand about the press release, there is certainly something interesting that has been observed, but there are many reasons that could underlie the differences that were observed.”

Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, WHO’s chief scientist, concurred and said AstraZeneca’s trial figures “are still too small to really come to any definitive conclusions.” Less than 3,000 trial participants were in the group that was given the smaller dose of the company’s vaccine compared with more than 8,000 in the larger group.

“If we are to explore this hypothesis of having perhaps a better efficacy with the lower dose, then it would need a trial,” Swaminathan said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
As Trump Deepens Ties with Saudi Arabia, Push for Israel Normalization Takes a Back Seat
Thai Food Village Debuts at Saudi Feast Food Festival 2025 Under Thai Commerce Minister Suphajee’s Lead
Saudi Arabia Sharpens Its Strategic Vision as Economic Transformation Enters New Phase
Saudi Arabia Projects $44 Billion Budget Shortfall in 2026 as Economy Rebalances
OPEC+ Unveils New Capacity-Based System to Anchor Future Oil Output Levels
Will Saudi Arabia End Up Bankrolling Israel’s Post-Ceasefire Order in Lebanon?
Saudi Arabia’s SAMAI Initiative Surpasses One-Million-Citizen Milestone in National AI Upskilling Drive
Saudi Arabia’s Specialty Coffee Market Set to Surge as Demand Soars and New Exhibition Drops in December
Saudi Arabia Moves to Open Two New Alcohol Stores for Foreigners Under Vision 2030 Reform
Saudi Arabia’s AI Ambitions Gain Momentum — but Water, Talent and Infrastructure Pose Major Hurdles
Tensions Surface in Trump-MBS Talks as Saudi Pushes Back on Israel Normalisation
Saudi Arabia Signals Major Maritime Crack-Down on Houthi Routes in Red Sea
Italy and Saudi Arabia Seal Over 20 Strategic Deals at Business Forum in Riyadh
COP30 Ends Without Fossil Fuel Phase-Out as US, Saudi Arabia and Russia Align in Obstruction Role
Saudi-Portuguese Economic Horizons Expand Through Strategic Business Council
DHL Commits $150 Million for Landmark Logistics Hub in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Aramco Weighs Disposals Amid $10 Billion-Plus Asset Sales Discussion
Trump Hosts Saudi Crown Prince for Major Defence and Investment Agreements
Families Accuse OpenAI of Enabling ‘AI-Driven Delusions’ After Multiple Suicides
Riyadh Metro Records Over One Hundred Million Journeys as Saudi Capital Accelerates Transit Era
Trump’s Grand Saudi Welcome Highlights U.S.–Riyadh Pivot as Israel Watches Warily
U.S. Set to Sell F-35 Jets to Saudi Arabia in Major Strategic Shift
Saudi Arabia Doubles Down on U.S. Partnership in Strategic Move
Saudi Arabia Charts Tech and Nuclear Leap Under Crown Prince’s U.S. Visit
Trump Elevates Saudi Arabia to Major Non-NATO Ally Amid Defense Deal
Trump Elevates Saudi Arabia to Major Non-NATO Ally as MBS Visit Yields Deepened Ties
Iran Appeals to Saudi Arabia to Mediate Restart of U.S. Nuclear Talks
Musk, Barra and Ford Join Trump in Lavish White House Dinner for Saudi Crown Prince
Lawmaker Seeks Declassification of ‘Shocking’ 2019 Call Between Trump and Saudi Crown Prince
US and Saudi Arabia Forge Strategic Defence Pact Featuring F-35 Sale and $1 Trillion Investment Pledge
Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund Emerges as Key Contender in Warner Bros. Discovery Sale
Trump Secures Sweeping U.S.–Saudi Agreements on Jets, Technology and Massive Investment
Detroit CEOs Join White House Dinner as U.S.–Saudi Auto Deal Accelerates
Netanyahu Secures U.S. Assurance That Israel’s Qualitative Military Edge Will Remain Despite Saudi F-35 Deal
Ronaldo Joins Trump and Saudi Crown Prince’s Gala Amid U.S.–Gulf Tech and Investment Surge
U.S.–Saudi Investment Forum Sees U.S. Corporate Titans and Saudi Royalty Forge Billion-Dollar Ties
Elon Musk’s xAI to Deploy 500-Megawatt Saudi Data Centre with State-backed Partner HUMAIN
U.S. Clears Export of Advanced AI Chips to Saudi Arabia and UAE Amid Strategic Tech Partnership
xAI Selects Saudi Data-Centre as First Customer of Nvidia-Backed Humain Project
A Decade of Innovation Stagnation at Apple: The Cook Era Critique
President Trump Hosts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Washington Amid Strategic Deal Talks
Saudi Crown Prince to Press Trump for Direct U.S. Role in Ending Sudan War
Trump Hosts Saudi Crown Prince: Five Key Takeaways from the White House Meeting
Trump Firmly Defends Saudi Crown Prince Over Khashoggi Murder Amid Washington Visit
Trump Backs Saudi Crown Prince Over Khashoggi Killing Amid White House Visit
Trump Publicly Defends Saudi Crown Prince Over Khashoggi Killing During Washington Visit
President Donald Trump Hosts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at White House to Seal Major Defence and Investment Deals
Saudi Arabia’s Solar Surge Signals Unlikely Shift in Global Oil Powerhouse
Saudi Crown Prince Receives Letter from Iranian President Ahead of U.S. Visit
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Begins Washington Visit to Cement Long-Term U.S. Alliance
×