One dose of AstraZeneca vaccine protects older people
A first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine substantially reduces the risk of older people becoming ill with Covid-19, scientists reported in Britain, where 20 million people have received a first dose of a vaccine.
The vaccine was roughly 60 percent effective in preventing Covid-19 among people at least 70 years old in England, the scientists wrote in a paper that was posted online on Monday. It has not yet been published in a journal or vetted by other researchers.
The same study showed strong protection from the Pfizer vaccine, for which a first dose given to people at least 70 years old was 61 percent effective in preventing Covid-19 for up to four weeks, the scientists found. For people at least 80 years old, a first dose was 70 percent effective, a figure that rose to 89 percent two weeks after the second shot.
Repercussions:
Countries across Europe have been hesitant to authorize the AstraZeneca vaccine for use in older people. The new data could resolve some of those doubts. In France, which had restricted the AstraZeneca vaccine to younger people, the country’s health minister said people over 65 with pre-existing conditions would be able to receive the vaccine.
(source: the New York Times)
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