AstraZeneca has issued updated Phase 3 clinical data based on its vaccine trials conducted in the US after concerns it had been publishing misleading information had come to light.
The revision had dropped the efficacy rate in preventing the disease to 76%, down from 79%, but the company's vice president claims the numbers shown in clinical trials to be consistent with the numbers reported earlier in the week.
Read more: US watchdog questions AstraZeneca vaccine trial data
The data still suggests the vaccine remains 100% effective in preventing severe disease and hospitalisation.
A number of US health companies have criticised the British pharmaceutical company for "cherry-picking" stats to make the result seem more favourable.
The group has butted heads with the EU over a failure to meet vaccine supplies, as well as a number of EU member states - and a few non-member nations - temporarily suspending the use of the jab after it was linked with an increase in blood clots.
The blood clot incident has been largely disregarded by most of the data gathered by various inquiries.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the White House's chief medical advisor and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has described the entire situation as "unfortunate" and that the board at the NIAID has sent a stern letter to him and AstraZeneca.
He told Good Morning America: “This is really what you call an unforced error because the fact is this is very likely a very good vaccine. This kind of thing does really cast some doubt about the vaccines and maybe contribute to the hesitancy. It was not necessary.”
The NIAID's board was sceptical towards the data presented by AstraZeneca, suggesting the actual efficacy rate would be somewhere between 69% and 74%.
In response to the criticism, AstraZeneca accelerated its own trials.
The data has suggested the vaccine is still highly effective in those aged 65 and older and at least 85% in older adults, according to AstraZeneca's executive vice president Mene Pangalos.
32,000 participants took part in the clinical trials in the US, with two-thirds taking the vaccine, and one-thirds taking a placebo.
Read more: Data shows "no link" between AstraZeneca vaccine and blood clots, Oxford claims
The test resulted in 190 systematic cases of Covid-19, according to the new analysis, 49 more than in the initial study.
AstraZeneca is set to submit its vaccine for regulatory approval for rollout in the US.
The data is to be submitted for peer review in the coming weeks.
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