One dose of AstraZeneca vaccine – Oxford or Pfizer pill – BioNTech COVID-19 cuts hospital admission risk among older adults by more than 80%, Public Health England (PHE) said, citing a study preview.
A real-world study, published Monday and not yet peer-reviewed, showed that protection against COVID-19 symptoms in those over 70 ranged from 57% to 61% for one dose of Pfizer image – BioNTech, and between 60% and 73% for the AstraZeneca – Oxford one four weeks after the first sighting.
PHE said the data suggested the vaccine from US drug company Pfizer PFE,
it caused an 83% reduction in COVID-19 deaths among people over 80. There were no consistent data for the vaccine from the Anglo-Swedish drug company AstraZeneca AZN,
which began its later administration.
Read: Pfizer vaccine may reduce transmission after 1 dose, new study finds
“This contributes to growing evidence that vaccines work to reduce infections and save lives,” said Dr Mary Ramsay, head of vaccination at PHE.
“While there is much more data to follow, this is encouraging and we are increasingly confident that vaccines are making a real difference,” she said.
Both German companion Pfizer BioNTech BNTX,
and AstraZeneca AZN,
looking at the effectiveness of vaccines against new strains of the COVID-19-induced coronavirus, such as those identified in South Africa and Brazil. Last month, AstraZeneca said it could take between six and nine months to produce COVID-19 vaccines that are effective against new changes.
Read: Pfizer Vaccine – BioNTech COVID-19 which is likely to protect against South African strain
UK health minister Matt Hancock said the results of the study were “very strong,” and said they could “help explain why the number of COVID admissions to intensive care units is high among people over 80 in the UK have fallen to single figures in the last few weeks. ”
More than 20 million people, or more than 30% of the UK population, have now received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, with the elderly and most at risk at the top of the priority list.
Nearly 816,000 people have received the second dose, according to the latest government data.
Read: France will not give AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to those over 65
The new data should help alleviate concerns in some European countries, including France, Germany and Italy, which suggested that the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca should not be Oxford University used for people over 65, citing enough data about its effectiveness for the elderly. people.
On Tuesday, the French government reviewed its stance, saying the elderly, including those aged 65 to 74, could, with pre-existing conditions, receive the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine from primary care centers, hospitals and “within days” from pharmacies.
Read: As new diseases continue to rise in France, Macron is resisting locks
Those over 75 in France will still be offered either the Pfizer vaccine – BioNTech or the image made by Moderna MRNA, a US biologist,
in a vaccination center, French health minister Olivier Véran said, speaking on television.
The German vaccination commission is also reviewing its recommendation. On Sunday, Professor Carsten Watzl, general secretary of the German Society of Immunology, urged the country to start allowing people over 65 to get the AstraZeneca – Oxford vaccine.
“We know the vaccine works in that age group. Recent data from Scotland clearly shows that it is receiving an immune response, the elderly are protected from serious infection with this vaccine, ”Watzl said in an interview with the BBC.
Preliminary results from a study published last week, carried out by the Universities of Edinburgh and Strathclyde and Public Health Scotland, and covering the whole of the population of Scotland, showed before the fourth quarter. weeks after the first dose, that the Pfizer – BioNTech and AstraZeneca – Oxford found that vaccines reduced the risk in hospital by up to 85% and 94% respectively.