Washington/UK: Pfizer-BioNtech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines provide similar protection from Coronavirus, said an analysis carried out by Public Health England (PHE) of ‘real world’ data of vaccine recipients in the UK. As per the analysis, one dose of Pfizer shot showed the effectiveness of 54 per cent against symptomatic covid, while Oxford shot showed an effectiveness of 53 per cent.
Further, PHE also studied the effectiveness of the vaccines 4-13 days apart after the first doses were administered. It found that there was a “small reduction” in the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine from 10 weeks after the first dose was given. However, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine’s effectiveness showed no such reduction
The study revealed that one should complete a 2-dose regime for either of the vaccines for higher levels of protection against Coronavirus.
The study also concluded that completing a 2-dose regime for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine ensured effectiveness of 90 per cent, but 89 per cent for the Oxford-AstraZeneca against the COVID-19 infection, as compared to an unvaccinated person.
“This new data highlights the incredible impact that both doses of the vaccine can have, with a second dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine providing up to 90% protection,” Reuters quoted vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi as saying.
“This latest real-world data from PHE adds to the growing body of evidence that demonstrates the effectiveness of our vaccine against COVID-19,” the news agency quoted an AstraZeneca spokesman as saying.
The PHE said its findings were the first of a kind but cautioned the results would remain inconclusive if more evidence is not gathered.
Britain is administering Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Moderna’s vaccine to its people.