«The situation in the UK it is getting worse, due to the “Indian” variant which is spreading with particular intensity between unvaccinated and vaccinated with a single dose ». The virologist writes it on his Twitter profile Roberto Burioni, who adds like that of focusing on a distance between the first and second dose, to increase the number of people covered with at least one dose, has proved to be “a very bad idea”; and how, however, fortunately, “the efficacy of complete vaccination (mRNA)” against the “Indian” variant “seems to be maintained”.
The situation in the UK is worsening, due to the “Indian” variant which spreads with particular intensity between unvaccinated and vaccinated with a single dose (bad idea). Fortunately, the efficacy of full vaccination (mRNA) appears to be maintained. https://t.co/J1SaPAmSiT
— Roberto Burioni (@RobertoBurioni) May 29, 2021
Two days ago, in fact, the British premier Boris Johnson said the spread of the variant could slow the pace of reopening. “At the moment I do not see dat that suggest a deviation from the expected path,” said the premier, “but we may be forced to wait».
And give
According to reports from the Reuters agency, in Great Britain the weekly data speak of about 7 thousand almost confirmed “Indian variant” infection – twice as many as a week ago.
In Great Britain more than 50 million doses of the vaccine against Covid: over 31 million citizens have had the first dose and more than 18 million also the second.
The problem lies exactly in this gap.
The United Kingdom, to cope with the initial shortage of vaccines, had opted for the spacing between first and second doses, in order to be able to at least partially immunize the largest possible number of people. And according to Publich Health England, thanks to the vaccination program, about 13,000 deaths and 39,000 hospitalizations have been avoided until 9 May. Now, however, with the increasingly pressing spread of the Indian variant, with major outbreaks, the government is accelerating on second doses.
The effectiveness of vaccines (with two doses)
As reported in a recent study by Public Health England, in fact, vaccines from Pfizer- BioNTech e AstraZeneca against the Covid-19 I’m “Very effective” against symptomatic disease caused by Indian variant (B.1.617.2), ma only after administration of the second dose.
A’single dose of both products, on the other hand, provides rather limited protection: only 33% against the Indian variant compared to 50% effectiveness against the English variant. With the inoculation of both doses, however, the level of protection is high and similar in the face of both mutations.
The differences between the two double-dose vaccines
In detail, the effectiveness of the vaccine Pfizer, after two doses, is 88% in preventing symptomatic infections of the Indian variant and al 93% in preventing symptomatic infections of the English variant. In the case of AstraZeneca, the effectiveness drops to 60% against the Indian variant and al 66% against the English variant. According to the researchers, the difference could be explained by the longer time it took for the Anglo-Swedish vaccine to reach maximum efficacy and the subsequent approval of Pfizer’s drug, whose second doses were injected first. There are currently insufficient cases and follow-up periods to estimate vaccine efficacy against severe outcomes from the Indian variant.
I study
In the study, which took place between April 5 and May 16, to cover the period following the arrival of the Indian variant, about 12,675 cases of all age groups and different ethnicities were included. Only 1,054 were with Indian variant, confirmed by genomic analysis.
The invitation to book the second dose
The British Minister of Health, Matt Hancock, stated that “the data show that the administration of both doses is absolutely vitalUrging British citizens to book the second dose to ensure stronger protection, says the doctor Mary Ramsay, vaccination program manager at Publich Health England: “This study reassures that 2 doses of both vaccines offer high levels of protection against symptomatic disease from variant B.1.617.2. We expect vaccines to be even more effective at preventing hospitalization and death, so it is It is essential to finish the vaccination cycle with a double dose to obtain maximum protection against all existing and emerging variants ».
May 29, 2021 (change May 29, 2021 | 15:02)
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