A single dose of COVID-19 vaccine made by the drug company Pfizer PFE,
and its partner BioNTech BNTX,
reduces infections and reduces the risk of transmission, according to a new study.
A study by the Cambridge University Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust and the University of Cambridge looked at health workers in January, where a similar number of vaccinated and unvaccinated staff were examined.
It was found that 26 out of 3,252, or 0.8%, tests performed by unvaccinated medical staff were positive. This compares with 13 of 3,535, or 0.37%, tests performed by health workers less than 12 days after vaccination and four of 1,989, or 0.2%, tests of health workers at 12 days or more after vaccination.
“This is great news – the Pfizer vaccine not only provides protection against SARS-CoV-2 disease, but also helps prevent infection, reducing the potential for the virus to be passed on to others,” said Dr. Mike Weekes, an infectious disease. -disease specialist, who led the study.
This suggests a four-fold decrease in the risk of asymptomatic COVID-19 infection among health care workers who have been vaccinated for more than 12 days, the researchers said, with an infection level halved for those vaccinated for less than 12 days. . The study was not evaluated by colleagues.
The Pfizer – BioNTech vaccine is given in two doses. In the US, the dose interval is three weeks, while in the UK the interval is up to 12 weeks.
A growing body of evidence shows how effective the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been in the UK and Israel, two of the countries at the forefront of mass vaccination.