The CureVac jab was found to have an efficacy of 48 percent across all age groups. The efficacy is much lower than expected. However, the efficacy is 53 percent for people between the ages of 18 to 60.
Basics about the CureVac shot
CureVac, a German biopharmaceutical company has developed a COVID-19 vaccine called CVnCoV. The final study data, published on Wednesday found that it had an overall efficacy rate of 48 percent. The data from the final trial was highly disappointing. The rate is much lower than the running mRNA vaccines by Modena and BioNTech-Pfizer. The vaccine only uses 12 micrograms dosage unlike the 30 and 100 micrograms used in Pfizer and Moderna vaccines respectively.
Initially, the number of prospective buyers for the vaccine in Europe had increased. It was due to the age limit and a small link to an extremely rare but potentially fatal clotting disorder associated with AstraZeneca and J&J vaccines. The vaccine, expected to be useful in countries with low and middle-range incomes might not be anymore.
Why does CureVac have such low efficacy rates?
“The unprecedented context of 15 strains circulating are partly responsible for the low efficacy. The vaccine is 53% effective against severe illness in 18 to 60-year-olds, and 77% effective against moderate and severe disease progression,” said the company. Researchers believe that the results are underwhelming due to the low dosage of CVnCoV’s recipe. After all, other rival mRNA vaccines use an unmodified mRNA in the vaccine.
The future of CVnCoV vaccine
“CVnCoV demonstrates a strong public health value for people aged 18 to 60, which we believe will be an important contribution to help manage the Covid-19 pandemic and the dynamic variant spread,” said Franz Werner, the CEO of the pharmacy company. The firm has shared its results with the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The EMA is responsible to approve the vaccine.