In the study, researchers studied the effectiveness of the Pfizer–BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccine against infection and hospitalization caused by the COVID-19 delta variant.
According to the first country-level mortality data conducted in Scotland, vaccination is more than 90 percent effective in preventing deaths from the Delta variant of COVID-19.
The University of Edinburgh and The University of Strathclyde-led study discovered that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 90 percent and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is 91 percent effective in avoiding COVID-related deaths after the second dose.
The study, which used data from the Scotland-wide EAVE II Covid-19 surveillance platform – which uses anonymised linked patient data to track the pandemic and the vaccine rollout in real-time, is the first to reveal how successful immunizations are at avoiding death from the Delta strain of COVID-19, which is currently the dominant strain in the UK and many other countries.
The team analyzed data of 5.4 million people in Scotland between April 1 and September 27, 2021. During this time, 115,000 individuals tested positive for COVID-19 through a PCR test conducted in the community, rather than in the hospital, and there were 201 deaths recorded due to the virus.
The Moderna vaccine is also available in Scotland, and no deaths have been reported among people who have received their second dose. As a result, it has been impossible to quantify its efficiency in reducing death, according to the researchers.
COVID-19 death was defined by the researchers as anyone who died within 28 days of a positive PCR test or having COVID-19 listed as a cause of death on their death certificate.
Professor Chris Robertson of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Strathclyde University stated:
“This study shows the value of carrying out analyses of routine healthcare data available in near real-time.
According to the researchers, more study needs to be done in different nations and contexts, as well as with a longer follow-up time following full vaccination, to boost confidence in these early findings.
Due to the study’s observational nature, according to the authors, data on vaccine effectiveness should be evaluated with caution, and a direct comparison between the two vaccines is not possible.
Finally, they conclude that the vaccine is the only method of protection against the virus, encouraging everyone to be vaccinated.
The findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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