[ti:US Agency Questions AstraZeneca’s Vaccine Data] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]A United States health agency said Tuesday [00:04.08]that drug-maker AstraZeneca might have included [00:08.40]"outdated information" on its latest U.S. vaccine test. [00:15.08]The action again raised questions about the approval [00:19.52]of the company's COVID-19 vaccine in the United States. [00:25.64]The unusual statement was released by the National Institute [00:30.20]of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) early on Tuesday. [00:35.84]The health agency said independent experts "expressed concern [00:41.36]that AstraZeneca might have included outdated information from that trial, [00:46.96]which may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data." [00:53.32]Earlier on Monday, the British-Swiss drug maker announced [00:58.36]that its vaccine was 79 percent effective against COVID-19. [01:05.96]The company added its shot was 100 percent effective [01:10.68]against severe disease and hospitalization. [01:15.76]Following the U.S. health agency's statement, [01:19.28]AstraZeneca said Tuesday that those numbers included information [01:24.60]from its U.S. drug trial up to February 17. [01:30.36]The company said it will provide an update within 48 hours [01:35.44]to the Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB). [01:39.76]The safety board is a committee of independent scientists [01:44.16]organized by the NIAID to study drug trials and their safety in the U.S. [01:52.56]The NIAID is headed by Dr. Anthony Fauci who [01:57.12]was recently named "chief medical advisor" by U.S. President Joe Biden. [02:04.48]Fauci told Statnews, "We felt we could not remain silent." [02:10.68]He added: "In my mind, it's an unforced error by the company." [02:17.20]Dr. Paul Hunter is a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia. [02:24.16]He told the Associated Press, "I doubt it was (U.S. officials') intention [02:30.20]to deliberately undermine trust in the AstraZeneca vaccine." [02:35.96]Hunter added, "But this will likely cause more vaccine hesitancy." [02:42.48]Early in the pandemic, the AstraZeneca vaccine, [02:45.76]developed with Britain's University of Oxford, [02:48.56]was considered a leading candidate against the coronavirus. [02:53.28]It costs much less than other vaccines. [02:57.76]It also does not require extreme cold storage, [03:02.20]making it easier to use in countries with limited resources. [03:08.36]Volunteers in the early study from Britain, Brazil and South Africa [03:14.00]produced antibodies to protect against the virus with no serious side effects. [03:21.28]The company then expanded the drug trials to the United States. [03:27.00]It also signed agreements to provide the vaccine [03:30.40]at cost to nations around the world, [03:33.68]including the United Nations COVAX program, to help poor countries. [03:40.88]Last year, the company temporarily suspended the trials in September [03:46.24]after a volunteer in Britain developed inflammation in her spine. [03:52.60]It was later found to be unrelated to the vaccine [03:56.48]but led to a long delay in the United States. [04:01.28]In November, AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford [04:05.64]reported unclear results from two different vaccine treatments [04:10.32]in the British drug trial. [04:13.32]Some volunteers received a half dose and some received a full dose. [04:20.00]AstraZeneca later reported that it was a result of manufacturing problems. [04:26.84]The action left many to question whether the shot was safe and effective. [04:33.12]John Moore is a professor at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. [04:39.32]He told Reuters at the time, "When you get corporate [04:43.00]and academic scientists saying different things, [04:46.72]it doesn't give you the impression of confidence in what they're doing." [04:52.44]Last week, more than 12 countries, mostly in Europe, [04:56.92]stopped using the vaccine after reports it was linked [05:00.88]to blood system blockages, known as blood clots. [05:05.76]On Thursday, the European Medicines Agency said [05:09.84]its investigation found the vaccine did not [05:12.84]raise the risk of blood clots, other than very rare cases. [05:19.32]AstraZeneca said Monday it would provide information [05:23.40]to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) [05:26.68]in the coming weeks to apply for emergency use permission. [05:32.20]Jimmy Whitworth is a professor of international public health [05:36.24]at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. [05:40.80]He told the Associated Press, "If the U.S. regulator looks at this data [05:46.20]and authorizes AstraZeneca, that will carry a lot of weight." [05:51.88]I'm Jonathan Evans. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM