In this Motley Fool Live video recorded on March 26, healthcare and cannabis bureau chief Corinne Cardina and Fool.com contributor Adria Cimino discuss whether lesser efficacy versus rivals will hurt the AstraZeneca (AZN 0.49%) coronavirus vaccine candidate.
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Corinne Cardina: How did these numbers stack up to the vaccines we're already familiar with? Obviously, Johnson & Johnson is one-dose, it's a little bit of apples to oranges there. The Pfizer and the Moderna vaccine uses a completely different technology because they're mRNA. But in terms of efficacy, is this on par with what we're seeing?
Adria Cimino: It's less than Moderna and Pfizer, they're up at 94, 95%. They're really, really high. However, again we have to put it into perspective. Their trial took place a little bit earlier. When they generated their data, it was before all these strains were gaining ground. Any of the recent data that comes out just in recent weeks had a lot of the strains involved too. It's very difficult to compare them exactly. The best thing to say is that they all are pretty strong vaccines, they're all pretty good. The idea of having 60-plus% efficacy is already very strong. The FDA, it originally set a bar for 50% and higher. We're looking at some pretty good vaccines here.
Cardina: Certainly. Ultimately, the 100% efficacy in severe disease prevention is very, very important and something to keep in mind.
