This has the makings of a good medical mystery:
>>>AstraZeneca’s new clinical trial results are positive but confusing, leaving many experts wanting to see more data before passing final judgment on how well the vaccine will work. . .
What have the AstraZeneca trials found?
. . . On Monday, AstraZeneca and Oxford released details about the first 131 volunteers to get Covid-19 in late-stage trials in the United Kingdom and Brazil. All of the volunteers got two doses about a month apart, but in some cases the first dose was only at half strength.
Surprisingly, the vaccine combination in which the first dose was only at half strength was 90 percent effective at preventing Covid-19 in the trial. In contrast, the combination of two, full-dose shots led to just 62 percent efficacy.
Why would that be?
No one knows. The researchers speculated that the lower first dose did a better job of mimicking the experience of an infection, promoting a stronger immune response. But other factors, like the size and makeup of the groups that got different doses, may also be at play.<<<
AstraZeneca’s new clinical trial results are positive but confusing, leaving many experts wanting to see more data before passing final judgment on how well the vaccine will work.
www.nytimes.com