First proof Covid jabs slash severe cases by up to 94% AND helps stop spread

COVID vaccines are slashing severe cases of the disease by up to 94 per cent - and helping to stop the spread, new findings suggest.

Experts have today declared the results - the first evidence to come out of the UK's jab programme - as "very encouraging".

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In the first set of vaccine data published today, researchers in Scotland found the Oxford jab appeared to reduce a person's risk of hospital admission by up to 94 per cent - four weeks after the initial dose.

Scientists from the University of Edinburgh, the University of Strathclyde and Public Health Scotland also examined data on the Pfizer jab.

They found people who received the US vaccine had a reduction in risk of up to 85 per cent between 28 and 34 days after the first dose.

Data for the two jabs combined showed that among people over the age of 80 - who are at high risk of severe disease - the reduction in risk of hospital admission was 81 per cent four weeks after the first dose.

The majority of older people in the study - who are among those at highest risk of severe disease and death from Covid-19 - were more likely to have had the AstraZeneca jab.

'SINGLE DOSE HIGHLY EFFECTIVE'

Meanwhile, a separate study from Public Health England has found just a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine cuts the chance of hospital admission and death from Covid by more than 75 per cent among the over-80s.

Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at PHE, said this was at the "lower end of the estimate"; and the drop in hospital admission and death was thought to be even more profound.

Among the over-80s, Covid testing data on more than 12,000 people found at least 57 per cent protection against coronavirus 28 days after vaccination with a single dose of Pfizer, rising to 88 per cent after a second dose.

Among this age group, there was also thought to be at least 75 per cent protection against severe disease.

The risk of needing to go to hospital was 41 per cent lower among older people who were vaccinated compared to those who were unvaccinated, while the risk of death was at least 57 per cent lower.

The Prime Minister Boris Johnson today said in the House of Commons: "No vaccine can ever be 100 percent effective - not every one will take them up and like most viruses Covid-19 will mutate."

Speaking about the findings at the Downing Street press briefing tonight, England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said: "These vaccines being used in the UK provide a very substantial level of protection from the first dose. It is very important people get the vaccination. 

"The data suggests that protection continues over a long period beyond 21 days - this is supportive of our delaying the second dose.

";But the third thing it shows is that we must make sure those who have a first vaccine go on to get their second."

Overall, the vaccine cut the chance of needing to go to hospital and death by more than 75 per cent, PHE said.

A separate study found the Pfizer/BioNTech jab also offered a high degree of protection for younger age groups.

PHE looked at data from more than 23,000 healthcare workers aged 65 and under, from 104 England hospitals, who had received at least one dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

It found that those who receive a single dose of the jab had at least a 70 per cent lower chance of becoming infected with coronavirus 21 days after vaccination, rising to 85 per cent after a second dose.

The new data found the Pfizer jab was just as effective against the Kent variant of coronavirus as it was against the original pandemic strain.

'REASONS FOR OPTIMISIM'

Lead researcher of the Scotland vaccine study Professor Aziz Sheikh, director of the University of Edinburgh’s Usher Institute, said: “These results are very encouraging and have given us great reasons to be optimistic for the future.

“We now have national evidence – across an entire country – that vaccination provides protection against Covid-19 hospitalisations.”

Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England, who was not involved with the study, said: "This research provides encouraging early data on the impact of vaccination on reducing hospitalisations.”

The preliminary results have been posted online, meaning they have not yet been reviewed by other scientists before being published in a journal.

This research provides encouraging early data on the impact of vaccination on reducing hospitalisations

Professor Chris WhittyChief Medical Officer for England

The research is the first to describe the effect of vaccination on a whole country, analysing the entire 5.4 million population of Scotland.

It looked at vaccine data up to February 15, when some 650,000 people had had the Pfizer jab, and 490,000 had had the Oxford-AstraZeneca one.

The study team says the findings are applicable to other countries that are using the Pfizer and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines.

Dr Jim McMenamin, national Covid-19 incident director at Public Health Scotland, said: “These results are important as we move from expectation to firm evidence of benefit from vaccines.

“Across the Scottish population the results show a substantial effect on reducing the risk of admission to hospital from a single dose of vaccine.

“For anyone offered the vaccine I encourage them to get vaccinated.”

Chris Robertson, professor of public health epidemiology at the University of Strathclyde, said: “These early national results give a reason to be more optimistic about the control of the epidemic.”

Sir Mene Pangalos, executive vice president of biopharmaceuticals research and development at AstraZeneca, said:  “We are extremely encouraged to see the first evidence of the effectiveness of Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca in the 'real-world'."

He said vaccine effects were seen across all ages, including those over 80 years old, proving the jab works in older populations.

It comes after EU countries including France, Germany, Spain decided against using the Oxford jab in those over 65 years of age, claiming there to be a lack of data in this group.

But the World Health Organization has since officially recommended the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine for people over the age of 65, adding that it should be used "without an upper age limit".

One of the researchers Dr Josie Murray said that despite the promising data from Scotland, “we must not be complacent”.

She added that it was important for everybody to get the second dose of the vaccine when offered, as this ensures the maximum level of protection.

Official data shows that as of February 21, more than 1.4 million people had received their first dose of a Covid vaccine.

This is the equivalent of 32.3 per cent of people aged 18 and over in Scotland.

The nation has raced ahead to reach 80 per cent of people aged between 65 and 69 years old already.

Dr McMenamin said the data supports the prioritisation list for jabs, set by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

He said: “I think what we are presenting here is an observation which we were already well describing across Scotland about this being an infection which predominantly has the highest clinical impact in the most vulnerable elderly people in our society.

"From what we can see here, that age stratification and the effect in those age groups is something which we can see a positive benefit from the vaccines that we’re using.

“That’s certainly consistent then with the categorisation... of incrementally approaching the people who are at maximal risk first.

“Nothing that we’re saying is a suggestion of any information that would be important for change."

'VACCINES ARE WORKING'

Commenting on PHE's Pfizer report, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: "This crucial report shows vaccines are working.

"It is extremely encouraging to see evidence that the Pfizer vaccine offers a high degree of protection against coronavirus.

"Vaccines save lives, and so it is vital we roll out the vaccine programme as fast as possible, and that as many people as possible take the jab.

"This new evidence shows that the jab protects you, and protects those around you.

"It is important that we see as much evidence as possible on the vaccine's impact on protection and on transmission, and we will continue to publish evidence as we gather it.

"As we roll out the jab, it is vital people continue to play their role in protecting the NHS by sticking with the rules."

Dr Ramsay said: "This is strong evidence that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is stopping people from getting infected, while also protecting cases against hospitalisation and death.

"We will see much more data over the coming weeks and months but we should be very encouraged by these initial findings.

"But protection is not complete, and we don't yet know how much these vaccines will reduce the risk of you passing Covid-19 on to others.

"So even if you have been vaccinated, it is really important that you continue to act like you have the virus, practise good hand hygiene and stay at home."

While no figure was given for how effective the Pfizer vaccine is at cutting transmission of the virus, researchers behind the healthcare study said it will cut transmission.

In that study, 84 per cent of participants were female, 89 per cent were white and 86 per cent were in a role where they dealt directly with patients.

A quarter (26 per cent) of participants had a reported medical condition, with asthma, obesity and diabetes the most common.

The researchers said there was lower uptake of the vaccine among some groups, including those from minority ethnic backgrounds.

But they said speculation of high levels of vaccine hesitancy among health workers had not been found in the study, with almost 90 per centof people receiving at least one dose of vaccine.

CRUCIAL DATA

It comes after a raft of data from Israel claiming the vaccine rollout there had led to a 39 per cent drop in hospitalisations in the elderly.

Israel began its vaccination programme December 19 with the Pfizer/BioNTech jab.

The findings were based on comparing thousands of vaccinated and unvaccinated people who were signed up with large healthcare providers, and not the whole country’s population.

The ability for vaccines to reduce hospitalisations and deaths will be crucial for the UK to ease lockdown restrictions in the coming months.

It’s one of the four aspects No10 will analyse continuously in order to move into each stage of lifting rules.

One in three adults in the UK have now received a dose of one of the vaccines.

Mr Hancock said on Sunday the Government is confident it has the supplies to meet the July 31 target and to vaccinate all adults.