Covid-19 roundup: As­traZeneca's can­di­date could elic­it im­mune re­sponse in old­er pa­tients; The EMA could ap­prove a vac­cine with less than 50% ef­fi­ca­cy — re­port

With per­mis­sion to re­sume its Covid-19 tri­al in the US, As­traZeneca is back in the race for emer­gency ap­proval. And ear­ly re­sults sug­gest the can­di­date could trig­ger an im­mune re­sponse in those most vul­ner­a­ble to se­ri­ous ill­ness.

Im­muno­genic­i­ty blood tests per­formed on a sub­set of old­er par­tic­i­pants showed that the can­di­date in­duced an­ti­body and T-cell re­spons­es in old­er pa­tients, two un­named sources told the Fi­nan­cial Times. The re­sults, they said, are con­sis­tent with ear­li­er da­ta which showed the can­di­date achieved “ro­bust im­mune re­spons­es” in adults be­tween 18 and 55 years old, ac­cord­ing to the re­port.

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