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According to new British data, two doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine or Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine are effective against symptomatic infections from the first-discovered variant in India, indicating that the reduction in efficacy is minimal compared to the so-called Kent variant.
The BioNTech/Pfizer thorn provides 88% protection against the B. 1.617.2 variant found in India. Compared to the 93% protection against the B.1.1.7 strain first found in Kent in south-east England, there is almost no drop in protection. . According to data from Public Health England.
The protective effect of two doses of Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine on the two variants is relatively low, the protection rate of B.1.1.7 is 66%, and that of B.1.617.2. The protection rate is 60%.
However, officials warned that these numbers may be underestimated, which suggests that the second dose of AstraZeneca jab was launched later than the BioNTech/Pfizer injection, which means that the follow-up time for the AZ cohort is shorter.
These figures will give people hope that the British government will end the country’s blockade on June 21 as planned.
Other data show that it may take several weeks for the AZ vaccine to achieve maximum efficacy after the second vaccination, which indicates that the new data may not fully reflect its protective effect.
The relative reduction in efficacy of the two vaccines against B.1.617.2 is similar: BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine is 6%, and Oxford/AstraZeneca is 10%.
The Minister of Health and Social Care Matt Hancock described the new evidence as “groundbreaking.” When talking about the number of people who have been vaccinated with the two vaccines, he added: “We can now be sure that more than 20 million people (more than one-third) have a significant protective effect on this new variant.” The numbers are following “hundreds of thousands every day”.
Dr. Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunization at Public Health England, said that she and her colleagues expect the vaccine to be more effective in preventing hospitalization and death.
The severity and spreadability of the Indian variants are critical to determining whether Boris Johnson can realize the “road map” of fully opening up India. Insiders say that officials report data to ministers every day and have formal dialogues with Hancock and the prime minister at least once a week to update these data, because Johnson weighed the final decision.
The data released on Saturday provides more detailed information about: Early data seen by the Financial Times.
The evidence so far shows that B. 1.617.2 The ability to evade vaccine immunity is lower than B.1.351, which is the first variant found in South Africa, according to public health officials.
Data from British hospitals showed that there were 2889 genetically confirmed cases of B. 1.617.2, 104 of which resulted in emergency room visits, 31 of them stayed overnight in the hospital, and 6 deaths. These records have not yet fully matched the vaccination status, so the breakdown of severe cases between vaccinated and non-vaccinated people is not yet clear.
Another report released by PHE on Saturday showed that there is ongoing evidence that B. 1.617.2 is more communicable than B.1.1.7.
But the British scientist’s model also shows that the growth pattern of this variant varies greatly between different regions of the UK. A public health official said that in London, the change in the ratio of B.1.1.7 and B.1.617.2 appeared to be a replacement for a variant, but overall there was no increase, but in other parts of England, the variant first It is determined that India’s growth rate is sufficient to generate overall growth.
Dr. Robert Challen of the University of Exeter introduced the Indian variant model to the government’s scientific advisory group SAGE. He said that it is difficult to clarify the reasons for the increase in variants. in conclusion. He added that a larger family size may play a role, but “there may be other factors, such as poor ventilation or higher housing density, which are more difficult to control.”
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