Coronavirus: The Oxford vaccine could lead to a “significant” reduction in disease prevalence

The effect on transmission of the virus is very important.

And if the vaccine only protects against severe disease but does not avoid catching the virus and transmitting it, then everyone will need to be vaccinated to protect them.

But if the vaccine also stops the spread of the virus, it will have a much greater impact on the epidemic because everyone who is vaccinated also indirectly protects others.

The study conducted by the University of Oxford every week smears the participants to test for the presence of the virus in them.

If they don’t have a virus, they won’t be able to spread it. In the study, people halved the number of positive tests once they were given two doses of the vaccine.

“The data indicate that [اللقاح] It may have a significant impact on transmission by reducing the number of infected people in the population. “

Single dose protection

The United Kingdom, in a global debate and much contradictory to other countries, is giving priority to giving the first dose to as many people as possible.

The idea is to save more lives by giving more people some protection, but this means that people will have to wait about three months for a booster dose instead of three weeks.

This study – of 17,000 people in the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil – showed that protection remained at 76% for the three months after the first dose.

This increased to 82% after patients were given the second dose.

Professor Andrew Pollard, from the Oxford Vaccine Trial, said: “These new data provide important verification of provisional data used by more than 25 regulators, including the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the European Medicines Agency to grant permission to use the vaccine in emergency situations.”

“It also supports the policy recommendation made by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization for the 12-week period of the initial dose, as it is looking for the optimal approach to rollout,” Pollard added.

The report does not address the impact of the new strains on how well vaccines work.

Professor Stephen Evans, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: “The data certainly provides some evidence indicating that ultimate protection from two doses of this vaccine is not worsened by a longer period of 28 or 42 days between the two doses, and it tends to confirm what. It has been shown before, that the final effect was better. “

Health Minister Matt Hancock said the study was “very encouraging,” adding that it “strengthens our confidence that vaccines are able to reduce transmission and protect people from this horrific disease.”

He said: “This report shows that the Oxford vaccine is working and is working well.”

“More than 9.6 million people have already received the first dose of the Coronavirus vaccine, and the NHS is working tirelessly to vaccinate as many people as possible in every part of the UK,” he added.