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The chance of someone becoming infected with coronavirus is significantly reduced by about 65% after the first dose of the Oxford / Astra Zeneca or Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine. According to a new British study. Vaccines also work just as well for people over the age of 75 as for those in vulnerable groups with underlying diseases.
Researchers from the Office for National Statistics in Britain and the University of Oxford. Also found strong immune responses and antibody production in all age groups for both different types of vaccines. The data, contained in two pre-published studies, according to the BBC and the Guardian. Has been based on around 370,000 people and provide further solid evidence that vaccines protect against Covid-19.
The first study found that people vaccinated with a single dose of AstraZeneca or Pfizer were 65% less likely to become infected. Three weeks after their first vaccination (between December 2020 and April 2021), new infections with symptoms had dropped by 74%. While asymptomatic infections by 57% (average reduction of about 65%), compared with non-vaccinated.
Those who took the second dose of Pfizer had a 90% lower chance of becoming infected with symptoms and a 70% lower risk of asymptomatic infection. For AstraZeneca, because the two doses are much longer apart, there was insufficient data to evaluate after the second dose. Both vaccines were effective against the “English” variant B.1.1.7 of the coronavirus. However, the researchers pointed out that, as the data show, it is still possible for a vaccinated person to become infected. The virus can still be transmitted it to others. So the use of a mask and keeping a distance should continue.
A second study in nearly 46,000 people who had received a single dose of the vaccine found a strong antibody response in 95% of those vaccinated, regardless of age. The antibodies remained potent ten weeks later. Although antibody levels increased more slowly and lower after a dose of AstraZeneca. They decreased more rapidly after a dose of Pfizer, especially in the elderly.
The immune response is better in younger people than in older vaccinated (over 60 years old) in both types of vaccines. Unexpected, however, according to the researchers, is that after the second dose of Pfizer, the immune response in those over 80 is more intense than in younger people.
“We do not yet know exactly how much antibody reaction and how long it takes to protect people from Covid-19 in the long run, which we expect to respond to next year,” said Oxford Professor Sarah Walker.
Source: ΑΠΕ – ΜΠΕ
