LONDON – A single injection of the vaccine produced by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE led to a 57% reduction in cases of Covid-19 in people aged 80 and over, rising to 88% after a second dose, according to preliminary data UK accelerated inoculation program.
The findings add to a growing body of international evidence that new vaccines provide significant, if not complete, protection against Covid-19, offering governments a route out of a pandemic that has already cost at least 2.5 million lives in around the world and made tens of millions of people sick.
The UK data, published Monday, are preliminary and have not been reviewed by other scientists.
England’s public health agency said that an injection of the vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE led to a 57% reduction in Covid-19 cases in people aged 80 and over, compared to what would be expected if they weren’t received a shot. This increased to 88% after a second dose.
Hospitalization rates fell 41% 14 days after the injection and the chance of dying from the disease fell by more than half among those immunized.