Why is Oxford-AstraZeneca Vaccine Looking Like India’s Best Shot?

Even as India battles a big spike in COVID cases, the good news is that vaccine developers are closer to success.

Recently, the COVID-19 vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford and Swedish-British pharma AstraZeneca was announced to have 70 percent efficacy after a large-scale trial.

(Photo: The Quint)

Even as India battles a big spike in COVID cases, forcing some states to reimpose certain restrictions on people's movements, the good news is that vaccine developers are inching towards success at a rapid pace.

Recently, the COVID-19 vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford and Swedish-British pharma AstraZeneca was announced to have 70 percent efficacy after a large-scale trial. This of course comes on the heels of a string of announcements from other research groups:

• Pfizer's announcement from 9 November, of the interim results of its candidate vaccine proving to be more than 90 percent effective (which they later revised to 95 percent).
• Russia's announcement that came on 11 November, on Sputnik V showing 92 percent efficacy in late-stage trials,
• And Moderna's announcement from 16 November about its candidate's 94.5 percent efficacy.

And not to mention India's very own candidate COVAXIN being developed by Bharat Biotech, who, on 23 November, said that the vaccine is expected to be 60 percent efficacious.

What do these different levels of efficacy mean for us in this vaccine race? Why is the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccine looking like India's best shot? Tune in to The Big Story!