‘Covishield, Pfizer 90 per cent effective in preventing deaths due to Delta’

A health worker helps a Covid-19 patient exercise at the ICU of the Virgen de Fatima contingency hospital, in Piura, northern Peru. Pic/AFP

Two doses of Covishield and Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines may be 90 per cent effective at preventing deaths from the Delta variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday. The study, using data from the Scotland-wide EAVE II Covid-19 surveillance platform, is the first to show across an entire country how effective vaccines are at preventing death from the Delta variant, the dominant form of the virus in many other countries.

The research team from Universities of Edinburgh and Strathclyde and Public Health Scotland analysed data from 5.4 million people in Scotland between April 1 and September 27, 2021. During this period, 1,15,000 people tested positive for Covid-19 through a PCR test conducted in the community, rather than in hospital, and there were 201 deaths recorded due to the virus. The study found that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 90 per cent effective and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, known as Covishield in India, is 91 per cent effective in preventing deaths in people who have been double vaccinated, but who have tested positive for coronavirus in the community.

"With the Delta variant now the dominant strain in many places worldwide and posing a higher risk of hospitalisation than previous variants seen in the UK, it is reassuring to see that vaccination offers such high protection from death very shortly after the second dose," said Professor Aziz Sheikh, Director of the University of Edinburgh's Usher Institute, and EAVE II study lead. "If you still have not taken up your offer to be vaccinated, I would encourage you to do so based on the clear benefits it offers," Sheikh said. The researchers defined death from Covid-19 as anyone who died within 28 days of a positive PCR test, or with Covid-19 recorded as a cause of death on their death certificate.

Putin supports paid leaves to curb Covid

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he supports a proposal to introduce paid non-working days across the country from October 30 to November 7 in an effort to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Local authorities can launch the days off earlier or extend them if necessary, Xinhua news agency quoted Putin as saying.

White House plans to roll out jabs for kids

The White House has unveiled a plan to roll out Covid-19 vaccines for children aged from five to 11, pending the jab's approval by the US FDA. "In anticipation of the FDA's independent advisory committee meeting on October 26 and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention independent advisory committee meeting on November 2-3, today the Biden Administration is announcing a plan to ensure that, if a vaccine is authorised for children ages 5-11, it is quickly distributed and made conveniently and equitably available to families," the White House said in a statement.

Another 49,139 people in UK test positive

Another 49,139 people in the UK have tested positive for Covid-19, marking the largest daily rise since lockdown rules ended in the country three months ago, according to official figures released on Wednesday. For the eighth consecutive day, more than 40,000 new cases of Covid-19 were reported, bringing the total number of Coronavirus cases in the country to 8,589,737, Xinhua news agency reported. The country also reported a further 179 Coronavirus-related deaths.

US FDA approves ‘mix and match' booster dose

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorised Covid-19 booster doses of Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, and approved "mix and match" booster dose for currently available approved Covid-19 vaccines. The agency on Wednesday authorised the use of a single booster dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at least six months after completion of the primary shots to people 65 years of age and older, 18 through 64 years of age at high risk of severe Covid-19, and 18 through 64 years of age with frequent institutional or occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2, Xinhua news agency reported.

45,70,13
No. of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours

24,22,25,450
Total no. of cases worldwide

49,25,547
Total no. of deaths worldwide

Source: WHO/Johns Hopkins

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