The White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci criticized Wednesday what he described as "old" information in AstraZeneca's vaccine trial in the U.S., ABC News reported Wednesday.
Fauci said he acknowledged lingering worries with accuracy may cause problems in getting more Americans to be immunized.
Early Monday, the company announced promising data in a news release, saying its COVID-19 vaccine had a 79% efficacy rate and was 100% effective in preventing severe hospitalization.
But according to Fauci, the company's news release contains "falsehoods" and appears to be an "unforced error." The vaccine itself, he said, is "very good."
The AstraZeneca vaccine has not yet been granted emergency use approval in the U.S.
The numbers in question were based on a pre-specified preliminary study containing a Feb. 17 data cutoff, AstraZeneca said.
"If you look at it, the data really are quite good but when they put it into the press release it wasn't completely accurate," Reuters quoted Fauci as saying.
According to health experts, AstraZeneca could be potentially undermining vaccine confidence with an outdated information when it disclosed results from a U.S. trial a day earlier.
An independent committee that oversees the study reprimanded AstraZeneca in a letter Monday for cherry-picking data, a senior administration official said.
AstraZeneca's issues with public relations regarding its vaccine distribution date back late last year, when the British drugmaker acknowledged an error in the vaccine dosage administered to some patients.
International health agencies have repeatedly said AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine is effective and safe, but it's not the first time the pharmaceutical company has made a blunder with public trust.
AstraZeneca promises to provide an update within 48 hours after completing their data analysis evaluation.
The company said it plans to apply for emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration early next month.
At that time, its coronavirus vaccine data will go through a rigorous scrutiny and examination process.
