AstraZeneca said its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective following an interim analysis of data from a U.S.-based Phase 3 trial involving more than 32,000 participants. “The vaccine was well tolerated, and the independent data safety monitoring board (DSMB) identified no safety concerns related to the vaccine,” the company said in a March 22 statement. The company said that the U.S. Phase 3 trial of the vaccine showed that it’s 79 percent effective at preventing symptomatic illness and 100 percent effective against severe or critical disease and hospitalization. Last week, more than a dozen nations suspended the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine, called AZD1222, after a few dozen people who received the vaccine developed blood clots. The European Union’s drug regulatory agency subsequently carried out a review and concluded that, while it couldn’t rule out a direct link to thrombotic events—or blood clotting—the benefits of using the vaccine outweigh the possible …