News that clinical trial tabulations for AstraZeneca’s COVID vaccine not only may contain outdated information, but also an “incomplete view of the efficacy data,” left Dr. Anthony Fauci “stunned,” he said.
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, of which Fauci is the director, issued a statement Tuesday, March 23, 2021, shortly after midnight that it had just been informed that there were questions on the company’s data and safety monitoring board during the vaccine’s trials.
“I was sort of stunned,” Fauci said. “The data safety and monitoring board were concerned that the data that went into the press release by AZ was not the most accurate and up-to-date data … “We just felt we could not remain silent. Because if we did remain silent, we could be understandably accused of covering something up. And we definitely didn’t want to be in that position.”
The AstraZeneca vaccine has been under intense scrutiny in Europe for several days, while health officials study alleged links to blood clots with the vaccine.
SOURCE: STAT News March 23, 2021