--- title: "Third Major COVID Vaccine Turns Out to Be Super Effective" description: "UK's Oxford University and AstraZeneca have announced their COVID-19 vaccine is up to 90 percent effective according to preliminary study results." date: "2020-11-23" modified: "2020-11-23" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/oxford-astrazeneca-covid-vaccine-effective" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "Pathogens" - "Viruses" tags: - "coronavirus" - "covid19" - "oxford" - "Oxford University" - "vaccine" - "vaccines" --- # Third Major COVID Vaccine Turns Out to Be Super Effective ![UK's Oxford University and AstraZeneca have announced their COVID-19 vaccine is up to 90 percent effective according to preliminary study results.]() *\Image: Image via Pixabay\* More good news: UK's Oxford University and European pharmaceutical AstraZeneca [announced today]() that their COVID-19 vaccine is up to 90 percent effective, according to preliminary study results. That's a hair less effective than the vaccines developed by [Moderna]() and [Pfizer](), but the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has a major advantage: it's way cheaper to produce, at just $4 per dose [according to the *BBC*](). Pfizer's costs around $20 per dose, while Moderna's costs around $33. The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has another advantage. Its vaccine is much easier to distribute, as it can be stored inside a standard fridge. Pfizer's vaccine, in contrast, has to be stored at -70 degrees Celsius. The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine proved to be 90 percent effective when participants were given half a dose followed by a full dose at least one month apart. It was 62 percent effective when given as two full doses at least one month apart. That's an average efficacy of 70 percent. The [company says]() that "no serious safety events related to the vaccine have been confirmed." "Excitingly, we’ve found that one of our dosing regimens may be around 90 percent effective and if this dosing regime is used, more people could be vaccinated with planned vaccine supply," Andrew Pollard, chief investigator of Oxford's trial, said in the statement. The study involved 23,000 participants both in the UK and in Brazil who received either half- or full-dose regimens of the vaccine. The company is also conducting trials in a number of other countries across the globe as well, hoping to eventually sign up 60,000 participants worldwide. AstraZeneca is the third company to have recently made a major announcement about the efficacy of their COVID-19 vaccine trials. Earlier this month, both [Pfizer]() and [Moderna]() announced their mRNA-based vaccines are around 95 percent effective. ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()