A single dose of the AstraZeneca – Oxford vaccine or the Pfizer vaccine – BioNTech COVID-19 reduces the risk of hospital admission among older adults by more than 80%, Public Health England (PHE) said, citing a preliminary study.
The real-world study, which was published on Monday and has not yet been peer-reviewed, showed that protection against any symptoms of COVID-19 in people over 70 ranged between 57% and 61% for a dose of injection Pfizer – BioNTech, and between 60% and 73% for AstraZeneca – Oxford one four weeks after the first injection.
PHE said the data suggest the vaccine from the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer PFE,
caused an 83% reduction in deaths from COVID-19 among those over 80 years of age. There was no equivalent data for the vaccine from the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca AZN,
which started to be administered later.
Reading: Pfizer vaccine may reduce transmission after 1 dose, new study finds
“This adds to the evidence that vaccines are working to reduce infections and save lives,” said Dr. Mary Ramsay, head of immunization at PHE.
“While there is still a lot more data to follow, this is encouraging and we are increasingly confident that vaccines are making a real difference,” she added.
Pfizer’s German partner, BioNTech BNTX,
and AstraZeneca AZN,
are investigating the effectiveness of vaccines against new strains of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, 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 variants.
Reading: Pfizer vaccine – BioNTech COVID-19 likely to protect against South African strain
UK Health Minister Matt Hancock described the results of the study as “very strong” and said they “can also help explain why the number of COVID admissions to intensive care units among people over 80 years old in the UK has dropped to unique numbers in the past few weeks. ”
More than 20 million people, or more than 30% of the UK population, have already received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, with the elderly and those most at risk at the top of the priority list.
Nearly 816,000 people took their second dose, according to the latest government data.
Reading: France will not give the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to people over 65
The new data should also help to allay concerns in some European countries, including France, Germany and Italy, who recommended that the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca with the University of Oxford should not be used by people over 65, citing insufficient data. about its effectiveness for elderly people.
On Tuesday, the French government revised its stance, saying that elderly people, including those aged 65 to 74, with pre-existing illnesses, could receive the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine in primary care clinics, hospitals and “in a few days “in pharmacies.
Reading: As new infections continue to increase in France, Macron resists blockages
Those over 75 in France will still receive the Pfizer – BioNTech vaccine or the injection made by US biotech Moderna MRNA,
at a vaccination center, said France’s health minister, Olivier Véran, speaking on television.
The German vaccine commission is also reviewing its recommendation. On Sunday, Prof. Carsten Watzl, secretary general of the German Society for Immunology, urged the country to allow people over 65 to receive the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine.
“We know that the vaccine works in this age group. Recent data from Scotland clearly show that it elicits an immune response, the elderly are protected from serious illness by this vaccine, ”said Watzl in an interview with the BBC.
Preliminary results from a study released last week, which was conducted by the Universities of Edinburgh and Strathclyde and Public Health in Scotland, and covered the entire Scottish population, showed that in the fourth week after the initial dose, Pfizer – BioNTech and AstraZeneca – Oxford Vaccines reduced the risk of hospitalization by up to 85% and 94%, respectively.