AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford’s coronavirus vaccine produces an immune response in older adults similar to that in younger adults.
A new study published in the British medical journal Lancet shows that the Phase 2 trial of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine found that antibody and T-cell responses in people aged 56-69 and those 70 and older were similar to those between the ages of 18 and 55.
The results also show that the vaccine may be better tolerated in older adults. Among those who received both doses of the vaccine, systemic reactions such as fevers and rashes occurred in 88% of those ages 18-55, while occurring only in 77% of those ages 56-69 and 65% of those age 70 and older.
Older people are considered to be at higher risk for COVID-19. According to the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, about 79% of COVID-19 deaths are among those age 65 and older.
“These first data are really encouraging … showing that we are getting very good immune responses — even in the over-70s, which look very similar to those in younger adults,” said professor Andrew Pollard, the head of Oxford’s vaccine trial team.
