The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine (called Comirnaty) delivers a piece of mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid) that gives the body instructions on how to make the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19. The effectiveness against death was 70-85% after a single dose of either vaccine; and after a second dose, 95-99% with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and 75-99% with the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine. The overall vaccine effectiveness was found to be 65.9%, with 87.5% effectiveness against hospitalisation, 90.3% effectiveness against admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), and 86.3% effectiveness against Covid-19-related death. PHE reported that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was more than 90% effective against hospitalisation and death from the Alpha and Beta variants. The AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine appeared less effective than the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infection in those with the Delta variant.

Source: The Star July 20, 2021 04:52 UTC