A single dose of Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines reduces the risk of hospitalization for Covid-19 by more than 80% in people over 80, according to new Public Health England (PHE) data.
The effect was seen three or four weeks after vaccination.
It was also shown that people over the age of 70 had up to 61% protection against symptomatic diseases from the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and up to 73% from the Oxford-Astra-Zeneca vaccine.
“This adds to the growing evidence that vaccines are working to reduce infections and save lives,” Dr. Mary Ramsay, PHE’s head of immunization, said in a press release.
During a press conference on Monday, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock hailed real-world data and stressed that the UK’s daily death toll is declining “much faster” than at the first peak and that “falls faster in the 80s the puncture first than in the 80s ”.
The UK has administered Covid-19 shots to more than 20 million people, with campaigns aimed primarily at those over 80 who are most vulnerable to the disease.
The new data support the country’s decision to use both Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines at a time when other European countries were concerned about the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the elderly.
“These findings are particularly pleasing news due to the age range of participants who were all 70 years of age or older,” said Deborah Dunn-Walters, president of the British Society for Immunology COVID-19 and Immunology Taskforce, and professor. of Immunology, University of Surrey.
“Preliminary clinical trials for both vaccines have not included many individuals in this age group. This is important because as we age, our immune system does not work as well as we did when we were younger, i.e. , that older people sometimes produce immune responses to vaccination, “he said.
“The fact that vaccination is effective in significantly reducing symptomatic cases, hospitalizations, and deaths from Covid-19 in this older age group is really positive news,” Dunn-Walters added.
“While more research is needed, this study also provides more certainty about the UK’s decision to offer the two doses of the vaccine 12 weeks apart.”
But Ramsay stressed the need for people to be alert with measures such as social distancing and hand washing.
“It’s important to remember that protection is not complete and we still don’t know to what extent these vaccines will reduce the risk of passing Covid-19 to other people,” he said.
Data released last week by PHE from studies in health workers found that a dose of the vaccine prevented people from catching asymptomatic Covid-19 by at least 70%, suggesting that Vaccines can help reduce the spread of infection, but more data is needed. .
The UK is increasing the rate of second doses administered, with just over 800,000 now inoculated with both shots.