The COVID-19 vaccine developed by University of Oxford and Astrazeneca is 70% effective, early trials showed.

“This vaccine’s efficacy and safety confirm that it will be highly effective against Covid-19 and will have an immediate impact on this public health emergency,” AstraZeneca chief executive Pascal Soriot said in a statement. 

However the vaccine has produced lower average efficacy compared to coronavirus vaccines produced by rivals Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, which have come in above 90%.

While revealing the positive interim data on Monday, British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca and Oxford University said their coronavirus vaccine has shown an average efficiency of 70% in trials involving 23,000 people and it could be approximately 90% effective without any side effects, reported AFP.

It said that no serious safety events related to the vaccine have been reported and it was well conducted across both dosing regimens.

“Furthermore, the vaccine’s simple supply chain and our no-profit pledge and commitment to broad, equitable and timely access means it will be affordable and globally available, supplying hundreds of millions of doses on approval,” he added.

AstraZeneca’s preliminary trial results mark a step forward in the battle against a pandemic that has killed nearly 1.4 million people and hit the global economy.

British Prime minister Boris Johnson said it was “incredibly exciting news the Oxford vaccine has proved so effective in trials”.