Vaccine major Serum Institute of India has said the Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University is safe and effective, and the Indian trials are progressing smoothly with strict adherence to all protocols.
The comments came after AstraZeneca and Oxford University acknowledged a manufacturing error that is raising questions about preliminary results of their experimental Covid-19 vaccine.
A statement describing the error came days after the company and the university described the shots as highly effective and made no mention of why some study participants did not receive as much vaccine in the first of two shots as expected.
Asking people to be patient and not panic, the Serum Institute of India (SII) said in a statement, the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine is safe and effective. Even the lowest efficacy results are at 60-70 per cent, making it a viable vaccine against the virus. This is a good sign when the whole country is waiting for vaccine.