A research in the UK has revealed that two doses of the vaccine of Oxford University- AstraZeneca and Pfizer are more than 80% effective on the Corona variant B1.617.2 found in India. Oxford University – Serum Institute of India has developed a vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and has produced vaccines under the name Covishield. Pfizer vaccines are being applied in many countries including the US, but it is not yet available in India. Pfizer was not approved earlier and when the approval process was made easier as the country progressed, there was still no consensus on the terms.
However, this research has been done by the UK government. The first cases of B1.617.2 variants found in India have also been found in England. In Britain, the number of people infected with it has exceeded 3,400. Out of this, around 2100 cases have already been reported a week ago. This has led to research on the effect of the vaccine on this variant.
The research was conducted by Public Health England, the executive agency of the UK Department of Health and Social Care. According to a report by the Financial Times, PHE’s analysis looked at how the protection provided by the two vaccines – Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer against the B1.617.2 found in India and the B1.1.7 Corona variant found in England.
According to the report, the agency found that two doses of these vaccines provided 81 percent protection against the B1.617.2 variant and 87 percent protection against the B1.1.7 variant.
According to a report by the Financial Times, statistics comparing both doses showed that one dose gave only 33 percent protection against B1.617.2 and 51 percent protection against B.1.1.7. The analysis concluded that a single dose provides 35 percent less protection against B1.617.2 compared to B1.1.7.
Meanwhile, England recently reduced the interval between two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from 12 weeks to 8 weeks.
This is when the data suggests that the vaccine is more effective than the 12-week difference between the two doses. Authorities argue that the government wants to give maximum protection to those who are in priority groups or who are at greater risk of infection. The Government of England has accelerated vaccination in hotspots containing the B1.617.2 variant.
Whereas the situation is different in India. The gap between the two doses of the Covishield vaccine, made with AstraZeneca in India, has been increased. Recently, the doses of covishield vaccine, which were initially applied at intervals of 4 weeks, have been increased to 12–16 weeks. This is the second time in nearly two months that the dose interval of Covishield has been extended. Initially this interval was 4-6 weeks. The interval was extended to 6-8 weeks in the second fortnight of March.
This decision comes at a time when there is a shortage of corona vaccines in the country and vaccination has been stopped in many places. The question has also been raised as to whether this is being said due to lack of corona vaccine or there is a scientist. Currently only about 3% of the population in the country has received both doses of the vaccine.
Even if the government claims that there is no shortage of corona vaccines and the world’s largest vaccination campaign is going well, the IMAF has estimated that by the end of this year only one-third of people in India can be vaccinated. . In its latest report, the International Monetary Fund has stated that there may be a shortage of corona vaccines in India and by the end of the year, vaccination is possible for only 33 percent of the people.
READ MORE – Baba Ramdev caught speaking against English medicines