An initial dose of the vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech cuts the risk of coronavirus infection, Public Health England announced on Monday, as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed plans to remove locking regulations.
According to data released as Johnson began speaking in Parliament, on health care workers under the age of 65, one dose of the vaccine came from the U.S. pharmaceutical Pfizer PFE,
and partner BioNTech BNTX,
reduces the risk of infection by more than 70%, rising to 85% after the second dose.
For those older than 80 years, a single dose is 57% effective against symptomatic COVID-19 infection after three or four weeks of inoculation, rising to more than 85% after the second dose.
Early data show that vaccinated people who go on to become infected are far more likely to die or be hospitalized, Public Health England said.
The UK was the first country to start providing the Pfizer vaccine – BioNTech. So far the inoculation campaign has focused on the elderly and frontline health care workers.
The UK is also particular in choosing to delay the administration of a second dose of Pfizer – BioNTech for up to 12 weeks. Pfizer’s own tests recommend a 21-day interval between dosing.
The health group said there was “good” evidence that a second dose of the vaccine was being given by drug company AstraZeneca AZN
and then Oxford University comes to much higher levels of protection. Johnson said it was too early in the campaign to provide robust data on that vaccine.
Public Health Scotland is unique in saying that its own research finds that the Pfizer – BioNTech vaccine reduces hospital risk by up to 85%, while the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine reduces hospital risk up to 94%.
The essence of these studies is that they were conducted in real-world situations, as opposed to studies under the control of drug dealers.