Two Covid-19 vaccine doses ‘highly effective’ in protecting against Indian variant

Two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine are highly effective in preventing serious illness and hospital admission in people who have contracted the Indian variant, a British study has found. Public Health England scientists said two shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine prevented hospital treatment in 96 per cent of cases, while the figure for two doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford drug was 92 per cent. The findings were published as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a four-week delay to the final step of easing social restrictions – which was scheduled for June 21 – due to the spread of the Delta strain that was first detected in India. The surge is raising concerns about the potential strain on Britain’s hospitals as infections rise by more than 5,000 a day. Ministers announced the waiting time between doses would be shortened from 12 weeks to eight for those over 40, in the hope 10 million more people will be fully immunised during the four-week delay. Prof Andrew Pollard, head of the Oxford Vaccine Group, said the new research was “incredibly good news for the months ahead”. "The important point here is we really do need to get two doses into those people who are at greatest risk of getting severely ill," he told the BBC's Radio 4 Today programme on Tuesday. “If we do that, it will keep the vast majority of those people out of hospital.” Public health officials said only 166 of the 14,019 cases of the Delta variant in England, analysed between April 12 and June 4, were admitted to hospital. PHE said vaccine effectiveness for the Delta variant was comparable to that for the Alpha mutation, which was first identified in Kent, south-east England, and fuelled the UK’s second wave in winter as the dominant strain. "These hugely important findings confirm that the vaccines offer significant protection against hospitalisation from the Delta variant," head of immunisation Mary Ramsay said. More investigations were under way to determine the level of protection against death from the Delta variant, which PHE expected to be "high". Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove said that despite the delay the government was “pretty confident” restrictions could be eased on July 19. “That should provide, we hope, a very high level of protection,” he said of the accelerating vaccination campaign. Asked whether hundreds a day could die from Covid-19 once restrictions were eased, Mr Gove said the illness should be treated in the same way as the flu. “We’re going to have to learn to live with Covid,” he said. “It’s a very nasty virus but we can provide people with protection through the vaccination programme. As with flu, we know every year there are a number of people who contract it and every year, sadly there are a number of people who are hospitalised and suffer as a result.” Meanwhile, a separate King's College London study found a headache, sore throat and runny nose were now the most reported symptoms of Covid-19 now that the Delta variant was dominant in Britain. Prof Tim Spector, who led the study, said the Indian variant of Covid-19 can feel “more like a bad cold” for younger people. “People with cold symptoms should be tested to slow any possible spread of Covid,” he said.

Two Covid-19 vaccine doses ‘highly effective’ in protecting against Indian variant

UK study finds Pfizer and AstraZeneca shots prevent serious illness in vast majority of cases