Two doses of Pfizer or AstraZeneca protect against hospitalization for the Delta variant – Telam

A study by health authorities in England indicated that having received two doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech or AstraZeneca / Oxford vaccines effectively protects against hospitalizations due to the Delta variant of the coronavirus, initially identified in India.

According to this research from Public Health England (PHE), receiving two doses of Pfizer / BionTech protects 96% against hospitalizations due to the Delta variant, while Oxford / AstraZeneca offers 92% efficiency, the AFP agency responded.

These are “results comparable to the efficacy of the vaccine in preventing hospitalizations linked to the Alpha variant”, which appeared in December in England.

From April 12 to June 4, the study analyzed 14,019 cases of people who contracted this variant, of which 166 were hospitalized.

This “It shows how crucial it is to get vaccinated a second time”, Health Minister Matt Hancock said welcoming the British immunization program “has already saved thousands of lives”.

“It is absolutely vital to receive both doses as soon as they are offered to obtain maximum protection against all existing and emerging variants.”“

Mary Ramsay, vaccination manager at PHE

Mary Ramsay, PHE immunization manager, also stressed that it was “absolutely vital to receive both doses as soon as they are offered to achieve maximum protection against all existing and emerging variants.”

The Delta variant, 60% more contagious than Alpha, is now dominant in the United Kingdom, the country most affected in Europe by the pandemic, with nearly 128,000 deaths.

Faced with this situation, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce on Monday a postponement of the last phase of deconfinement, initially scheduled for June 21.

Given the recent increase in the number of infections, around 7,000 per day, delaying the total lifting of restrictions, prolonging teleworking among other things, would allow the achievement of more British vaccines to protect them against severe symptoms, the hospitalization and death.

More than 41.5 million people, or nearly 79% of the UK adult population, have already received at least one first dose and of these 29.8 million people, 56.6% adults, both doses needed .