COVID-19: Government's strategy of delaying second coronavirus vaccine dose further vindicated
Not only has it allowed more people to get vaccinated, but it has cut NHS pressure and the number of deaths among older people.
Monday 1 March 2021 23:31, UK
The UK's vaccine efficacy data keeps getting better.
Monday's news is a major boost for confidence that these coronavirus vaccines really can and will bring us out of this pandemic.
Just weeks ago, there were some concerns that these vaccines might not offer the level of protection that we need.
Live COVID updates from the UK and around the world
Now we have the first robust data on the real world effectiveness of these vaccines.
And it shows that both the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines are highly effective in reducing COVID-19 infections among older people aged 70 and over.
That means a reduction in hospital admissions and that means a reduction in the number of people dying of coronavirus.
So one of the most vulnerable groups in society can be assured they are protected from the virus.
On Monday, we were presented with the proof that shows a single dose of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine provides approximately 80% protection against hospitalisations in the over 80s age group.
The UK government's decision to press ahead with its strategy of delaying the second dose has been further vindicated.
More than 20 million people in the UK have received their first dose of the vaccine because of this strategy.
Not only has it allowed more people to get vaccinated, but it has reduced pressure on the NHS and cut the number of deaths in this age group.
And the fact the efficacy is almost the same with both vaccines means there will be less concern from patients about which jab they get. That will keep things moving at pace.
Also, hopefully this news will also have an impact on vaccine hesitancy. This remains a serious problem for the immunisation programme. But it is hard to dispute these findings.
The news comes at a good time.
There are worries about the discovery of the Brazil variant in the UK and some local authority areas have noted slight increases in cases.
Remember too that there are still around 10,000 COVID patients in English hospitals right now.
The seasonal winter pressure is beginning to be felt by some NHS trusts which have seen a sharp rise in non-COVID emergency attendances.
Subscribe to the Daily podcast on , , ,
All of this as we look ahead to restrictions being eased in late spring and early summer.
This new data is encouraging but we still have much more that we need to understand about exactly how effective these vaccines are against transmission.
So we cannot afford to be complacent.
The government still has a massive immunisation programme ahead that will ensure we get two doses of the COVID vaccine within 12 weeks.
This will offer almost complete protection against the virus.