A fourth COVID-19 vaccine has shown that it can protect people against the worst effects of the disease in a large United States-based trial. Two doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine were 79 percent effective at preventing people from developing symptomatic COVID-19, according to a press release from the company today. No one in the US trial who received the vaccine was hospitalized for COVID-19, the company said.
It’s a good result for a vaccine that’s been dogged by clinical trial issues, poor transparency, and skepticism since last fall. AstraZeneca said the vaccine was up to 90 percent effective in November based on data from the United Kingdom and Brazil, but that number was based on a half-dose of the vaccine given to trial participants…