Protection against COVID-19 as high as 95% when two doses of vaccines are taken

New Delhi, July 07: A study by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has said that two doses of COVID-19 vaccines provide as high as 95 per cent protection against the virus.

The study has been published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research and was conducted among 117,524 police personnel from Tamil Nadu who either received no shot of at least one dose.

The Tamil Nadu Police department has been documenting the vaccination of its members and COVID-19 related deaths during the second wave. The date of hospitalisation as well as vaccination too is being documented.

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The study paper said, in conclusion, our analysis indicated Covid-19 vaccination, even with single dose, was effective in preventing deaths. It is necessary to increase coverage of Covid-19 vaccines, regardless of the type of vaccines, to reduce mortality in current as well as future waves of Covid-19 epidemic.

Between February 1 and May 14 this year, 32,792 personnel had received one dose, while 67,673 received two shots. 17,059 had not received even a single dose. Between April 13 and May 14, 31 COVID-19 related deaths were reported among these police personnel of which, four had taken two doses of the vaccine. Seven had taken one dose while 20 did not take the vaccination.

When compared to unvaccinated individuals, the relative risk of death due to COVID-19 among those receiving one and two doses was 0.18 and 0.05 respectively. The effectiveness of the vaccines in preventing deaths with one and two doses stood at 82 and 95 per cent respectively.

V K Paul, member (health), Niti Aayog, during the health ministry briefing recently said that it was a a simple study that showed in 4,868 police personnel when no vaccine dose was given, 15 deaths took place, and incidence was three per 1,000. In 35,856 police personnel, who took one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, there were nine deaths, and incidence was 0.25 per 1,000. About 42,720 police personnel who took two vaccine doses, two deaths happened and the incidence was 0.05 per 1,000, he also said at the briefing.