FILE - In this Wednesday, March 24, 2021, file photo, a health worker holds a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, during a mass vaccination campaign at San Pedro Hospital, in Logrono, northern Spain.
AstraZeneca says that its COVID-19 vaccine is strongly effective even after counting additional illnesses in its U.S. study.
AdEarlier this week, an independent panel that oversees the U.S. trial of the vaccine had accused AstraZeneca of cherry-picking data to tout the protection offered by its shot.
The updated information “confirms that our COVID-19 vaccine is highly effective in adults, including those aged 65 years and over,” AstraZeneca research chief Mene Pangalos said in a statement.
“This vaccine is so important for global health, and the disputes do not promote global health,” he said.