Dr Hilary tells GMB Covid jabs success is ‘beyond our wildest dreams’

CORONAVIRUS vaccine data on hospitalisations is beyond scientists wildest expectations, Dr Hilary Jones has said today.

Real-world data suggests that a single Covid jab slashes hospitalisation risk in elderly Brits by as much as 98 per cent.

🔵 Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest updates

Analysis of NHS pandemic admissions shows vaccinations may be more effective at preventing serious illness than previously thought.

Public Health England (PHE) had previously revealed that the risk of hospital admission dropped by at least 80 per cent for the over-80s, three weeks after their first shot.

Experts have said the new data is "very good news".

Speaking on Good Morning Britain this morning, Dr Hilary explained what the new data set means.

"Scientists are saying that according to this latest study - it’s beyond their wildest expectations for this vaccine in terms of success.

"What they did is they looked at 74,000 people who had been admitted to hospital between September and March."

Dr Hilary said that it's only more recently that we have been able to see the difference vaccination had made when it comes to infections and hospitalisations.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson had previously said that while vaccines had helped bring down infection rates across the UK, the lockdown had made the most impact.

Dr Hilary explained the most recent study data: "With nearly 2,000 people admitted to hospital with Covid who had been vaccinated, the vast majority had only just been vaccinated, in other words they had been exposed to the virus before the vaccination had a chance to create antibodies and immune response. 

"If you look at those people who are vaccinated and hospitalised at least three weeks before, by the time you have got an immune response, only 32 out of those 2,000 were in that category.

"So in other words it’s reduced hospitalisations by 98 per cent."

There are three vaccines currently being rolled out across the UK, the Pfizer/BioNTech jab, the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and the Moderna offering.

Over 33.1 million Brits have received a first dose with over 10.7 million now having had a second.

In total, PHE researchers looked at more than 74,000 Covid hospital admissions between September and early March, of which just under 2,000 mostly elderly Brits had received the vaccine.

Fewer than two per cent of the jabbed group, 32 in total, experienced coronavirus symptoms three weeks after their first dose – when immunity kicks in.

It suggests once vaccines start working, they offer even the most vulnerable almost complete protection against hospitalisation.

Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies member Professor Calum Semple said: “It’s very early data, but in broad terms it appears to be 98 per cent effective at preventing hospital admission three weeks after vaccination.”

"And that's just after the first vaccine, and that's in your frail, elderly population," he added.

"So this is really good real world data showing that this vaccine works and that one dose works really well.

"I think the message here is that when you come away from clinical trials, we can still show that the vaccine is working in the real world."

Prof Semple said lockdown should finally end in June as long as the vaccination timetable is met.

It comes after Professor Adam Finn, from Bristol University yesterday said the UK should expect another wave of coronavirus cases this summer.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation member said Mr Johnson was right to warn of future outbreaks.

At a press conference earlier this week, Mr Johnson warned that it was likely there would be a third wave in the UK and the Brits would be receiving booster jabs in Autumn.

Prof Finn told BBC Breakfast: "I'm afraid he is right yes. The models that we've seen on JCVI clearly point to a summer surge in cases as the lockdown is relaxed, because there are still many people in the adult population who've not been immunised and who will therefore start to transmit the infection between each other."