May 10, 2021

expert reaction to two preprints looking at real-world data on the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines in protecting against death and hospitalisation from COVID-19

 Two preprints, unpublished non-peer reviewed studies, by Public Health England (PHE), look at the effectiveness of the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines in protecting against death and hospitalisation from COVID-19.

Prof Jonathan Ball, Professor of Molecular Virology, University of Nottingham, said:

“These real world data confirm that COVID-19 vaccines are protecting the vast majority  of people from serious disease and death, especially after two doses. This is an incredible outcome as it paves a way out of this, and future, lockdowns.

“To realise the full benefits, we need to get as many people vaccinated as possible. Then, when this has been achieved we should move towards good surveillance and monitoring vaccine effectiveness instead of relying on isolation and other restrictive measures, as we learn to live with the virus.”

Two preprints: ‘Effectiveness of BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine and ChAdOx1 adenovirus vector vaccine on mortality following COVID-19’ by Jamie Lopez Bernal et al and ‘Effectiveness of BNT162b2 mRNA and ChAdOx1 adenovirus vector COVID-19 vaccines on risk of hospitalisation among older adults in England: an observational study using surveillance data’ by Sharif A. Ismail

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/covid-19-vaccines-further-evidence-of-success

All our previous output on this subject can be seen at this weblink:

www.sciencemediacentre.org/tag/covid-19

Declared interests

Prof Jonathan Ball: “In receipt of funding to develop DNA-based next-generation COVID19 vaccines.”

None others received.