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Pharmacist Bhaveen Patel donates a dose of Oxford / AstraZeneca covid vaccine to Joshua Labor in a coronavirus vaccination clinic to be held at Junction Pharmacy in Brixton, London, on Thursday 28 January 2021.
AP
Britain’s health chief says a new study showing that a single dose of COVID-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca provides a high level of protection for 12 weeks supports the government’s strategy to second shot to delay, allowing more doses to more people.
Health Minister Matt Hancock’s comments come after Oxford released a study showing that the transmission of the virus is reduced by two-thirds and serious diseases are prevented. The study has not yet been judged by peers, but British officials have greeted them excitedly under pressure to justify their decision to delay the second dose.
‘That reduction in transmission, as well as the fact that there are no hospitalizations, its combination is very good news. “It categorically supports the strategy we have taken to have a twelve-week gap between doses,” Hancock told Sky News on Wednesday.
One of the main researchers of the project, dr. Andrew Pollard of Oxford University, said Oxford scientists believe the vaccine will continue to provide protection against new variants of COVID-19, although they are still awaiting information.
Even if the virus adapts, it does not mean that we will not still have protection against serious diseases. ‘
“If we do have to update the vaccines, then it’s actually a relatively simple process that only takes a matter of months, rather than the huge efforts that everyone went through last year to run the large-scale trials,” he said. the BBC.