Real-world effectiveness of the Oxford/AZ COVID-19 vaccine in England [COVID-19]
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Real-world effectiveness of the Oxford/Astrazeneca COVID-19 vaccine in England. An observational retrospective cohort study using secondary databases to establish effectiveness of the Oxford/Astrazeneca COVID-19 vaccine in England
IRAS ID
300259
Contact name
Simon de Lusignan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
AstraZeneca
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN87123098
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 19 days
Research summary
The Oxford/Astrazeneca COVID-19 vaccine (AZD1222) has been shown to be highly effective in pivotal large-scale clinical trials, and population-wide administration began in the United Kingdom in early January 2021. The UK was one of the first countries to commence a mass vaccination programme against COVID-19 (the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection) and AZD1222, alongside the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine, formed the mainstay of this programme. Both of these vaccines require two doses which are being administered 12 weeks apart in the UK.
An effective vaccine against COVID-19 constitutes a major public health need and may be the only way to guarantee a safe and sustained exit strategy and avoid escalating mortality rates across the globe. There is an urgent need to establish a full understanding of the vaccine to underpin public trust in the vaccine.
This retrospective cohort study will assess the real world effectiveness of AZD1222 in England using routinely collected health data. Secondary use databases from the primary care sentinel network (held in Oxford) and NHS Digital's Trusted Research Environment will be linked on COVID-19 vaccination, testing, medical records, hospitalisation, and death. The primary of objective of the study is to assess the overall effectiveness of the first dose of the AZD1222 vaccine on hospitalization, ICU admission, and mortality among people with one dose of the vaccine. Our secondary objective is to assess the overall effectiveness among people with 2 doses of the vaccine.
REC name
London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/HRA/1971
Date of REC Opinion
25 May 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion