An interim trial analysis for Oxford-AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine found the candidate's average efficacy to be 70 percent. While considered encouraging, it falls short of the rates shown by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna, whose vaccines appear to be more than 90 percent effective.
Still, the Oxford-AstraZeneca candidate has a few key advantages — it can be stored at regular refrigerators temperatures for a long period of time, and it's much cheaper than the other candidates, which means it could be particularly crucial for developing nations and rural communities around the world.
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