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Pharmacist Bhaveen Patel administers a dose of the Oxford / AstraZeneca ova vaccine to Joshua Labor at a coronavirus vaccination clinic at Junction Pharmacy in Brixton, London, on Thursday, January 28, 2021.
AP
The British health chief says a new study showing that a single dose of the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca provides a high level of protection for 12 weeks, supports the government’s strategy of delaying the second shot so that more doses can be administered to more people.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s comments came after Oxford published a study showing how the vaccine reduced the transmission of the virus by two-thirds and prevented serious illness. The study has not yet been peer-reviewed, but British officials enthusiastically received it under pressure to justify their decision to delay the second dose.
“This reduction in transmission, as well as the fact that there are no hospitalizations, the combination of this is very good news. And it categorically supports the strategy we have been adopting to have a 12-week difference between doses. “Hancock told Sky News on Wednesday.
One of the project’s lead researchers, Dr Andrew Pollard of Oxford University, said Oxford scientists believe the vaccine will continue to offer protection against new variants of COVID-19, although they are still waiting for data on this. .
Even if the virus adapts, “this does not mean that we do not yet have protection against serious diseases.”
“If we need to upgrade vaccines, it’s actually a relatively simple process that only takes a matter of months, rather than the huge efforts everyone made last year to conduct the large-scale trials,” he said. the BBC.