Initial results from a trial evaluating CureVac's candidate SARS-CoV-2 vaccine show a low effectiveness in preventing COVID-19, the Associated Press reports.
According to the AP, the initial analysis indicates that the candidate vaccine is 47 percent effective in preventing COVID-19, though not all the data from the company's 40,000-participant trial in Latin America and Europe has been evaluated.
The Washington Post notes that the trial results may have been influenced by the spread of different viral variants. It adds that while the company has released little data so far, it has said that thirteen different variants were linked to COVID-19 cases in the trial, and more than half of the cases were due to variants of concern. "They're testing their vaccine much later than all the other vaccines we have were tested, and there are a lot more variants out there that could confound the ability of a vaccine to protect," Deborah Fuller from the University of Washington tells the Post.
The Post adds that the CureVac trial was being closely watched, as its vaccine is also mRNA-based like those from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, but with tweaks that allow it to be stored at refrigerator temperatures and as Europe has pre-ordered 225 million doses.
Franz-Werner Haas, the CEO of CureVac, says the company will continue to analyze its data and the overall efficacy may change, the AP adds.