LONDON (AP) – The UK’s COVID-19 vaccination program is starting to break the link between infection and serious illness or death, according to the latest results of an ongoing study of the pandemic in England.
Researchers at Imperial College London have found that COVID-19 infections dropped by about 60% in March as national exclusion measures slowed the spread of the virus. People 65 and older are least likely to become infected, as they benefit most from the vaccination program, which initially focused on older people.
The study also found that the relationship between infections and deaths is diverse, suggesting that infections may have resulted in fewer hospitalizations and deaths since the onset of widespread vaccination.
The positive news came amid renewed investigation into vaccinations that followed the revised UK government’s guidance on Wednesday that it would offer people under 30 an alternative vaccination for the AstraZeneca shot, where possible. The change followed studies that the shot could be linked to very rare blood clots.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock told Sky News that the public should be reassured about the great caution the government is exercising to ensure that the vaccination of the vaccine is as safe as possible.
‘What we have learned over the last 24 hours is that the vaccination of the vaccine works, we have seen that the safety system works, because the regulators can even spot this extremely rare event – four out of a million – and take necessary action to ensure the rollout is as safe as it can be, he said. ‘And we see that the vaccine works. It breaks the link between cases and deaths. ”
By Tuesday, about 31.7 million people had received a first dose, or just over 60% of the country’s adult population.
But Imperial researchers also pointed out that infection rates flattened out at the end of the study period, as the government began facilitating national exclusion and children went back to school. Future rounds of the study will determine the impact that further easing of restrictions on infection rates has.
The next step in lifting England’s third national exclusion is scheduled for April 12, when non-essential shops will be allowed to reopen, along with hair salons, gyms and outdoor service at pubs and restaurants.
The findings are based on data collected through the 10th round of the Imperial College Real-Time Assessment or Community Transmission study, which conducts swab tests on a random sample of people in England each month. The latest round tested more than 140,000 people from March 11 to 30.
Although Britain had one of the world’s fastest explosions, its death toll from the pandemic is the highest in Europe, at more than 127,000.
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