LONDON – A single injection of the vaccine produced by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE resulted in a 57% reduction in Covid-19 cases in people aged 80 and over, increasing to 88% after the second dose, according to preliminary data from the UK Rapid Inoculation Program.
The findings add to a growing body of international evidence that new vaccines provide significant, if not complete, protection against Covid-19, giving governments a way out of a pandemic that has claimed at least 2.5 million lives. around the world and has sickened tens of millions of people.
Data from the UK, published on Monday, are preliminary and have not been examined by other scientists.
The UK Public Health Agency said a vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE resulted in a 57% reduction in Covid-19 cases in people over the age of 80 compared to what they would have expected if they had not received a stroke. It increased to 88% after the second dose.
Hospitalization rates dropped by 41% 14 days after injection and the chance of dying from the disease was more than halved among those immunized.