Pfizer and AstraZeneca Vaccines Effective Against Indian Variant, British Study Finds | Health | Magazine

This is one of the four variants of concern that circulate in the world.

The Pfizer / BioNTech and AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccines are almost as effective against the Indian variant of the coronavirus as against the English, a study by the health authorities of England (PHE) indicates this Saturday.

According to this PHE report, conducted between April 5 and May 16, the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine was 88% effective against symptomatic Indian variant disease two weeks after the second dose and 93% against The English.

During this same period, the AstraZeneca serum was 60% effective, compared to 66% against the English variant, detected in Kent.

The Minister of Health, Matt Hancock, welcomed these “innovative” results, when the government bet on its vaccination campaign to protect itself against an outbreak of the Indian variant that puts the continuation of its deconfinement plan at risk.

To contain the spread of variant B.1.617.2, which can become “dominant”, according to health authorities, the interval between both doses of vaccine (up to three months) was reduced to eight weeks for people over the age of 50 years and the most vulnerable.

Also, screening tests have been intensified in affected areas (particularly in the North West of England and parts of London).

The two vaccines tested are 33% effective against symptomatic disease caused by the Indian variant three weeks after inoculating the first dose and approximately 50% effective against the English variant, according to the PHE.

The coronavirus genome was sequenced in 12,675 cases that made up the sample of this study, of which 1,054 corresponded to the Indian variant.

According to PHE data, at least 2,889 cases of the Indian variant were recorded in England between February 1 and May 18. Of these, 104 required emergency care, 31 required hospitalization and six were fatal.

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