Pfizer, AstraZeneca vaccines protect against Delta variant

Colombian President Ivan Duque receives the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 in Bogota on June 13. Pics/AFP

New analysis by Britain's health experts concludes for the first time this week that two doses of Covid-19 vaccines are "highly effective" against hospitalisation from the Delta variant the B1.617.2 extremely transmissible variant first identified in India.

Public Health England (PHE), which has been conducting regular analysis of Covid-19 variants of concern (VOC), said on Monday that the latest analysis shows that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is 96 per cent effective against hospitalisation after two doses and the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is 92 per cent effective against hospitalisation after two doses.

These figures are comparable with vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation from the Alpha variant, which was first identified in the Kent region of England and was previously the dominant VOC in the UK.

"This evidence of the effectiveness of two doses against variants shows just how crucial it is to get your second jab," said UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

The Delta variant of the novel Coronavirus, first identified in India, doubles the risk of hospitalisation compared to the Alpha variant first found in the UK, but Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines provide good protection against the strain, also says a study published in The Lancet journal.

Researchers at Public Health Scotland and the University of Edinburgh, UK, found that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine offered better protection against the Delta variant compared to the Oxford-AstraZeneca preventive, known as Covishield in India. They also found that two doses of vaccine provide much better protection against the Delta variant compared to a single dose.

California to reopen

California, the first state in America to put in place a coronavirus lockdown, is now turning a page on the pandemic. At the stroke of midnight on Tuesday, California was to lift most of its Covid-19 restrictions and usher in what has been billed as the state's ‘Grand Reopening.' Starting Tuesday, there will be no more state rules on social distancing, and no more limits on capacity at restaurants, bars, supermarkets, gyms, stadiums or anywhere else. And no more masks. The US death toll from Covid-19 topped 600,000 on Tuesday, even as the vaccination drive has drastically brought down daily cases and fatalities.

Israel no longer requires masks indoors

Israel no longer requires masks indoors, lifting one of its last coronavirus restrictions following a highly successful vaccination campaign. The restriction was lifted on Tuesday, though people will still be required to wear masks on airplanes and on their way to quarantine. Unvaccinated individuals must wear masks in nursing homes and other long-term health facilities.

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1,57,574
No. of new cases reported globally in the past 24 hours

17,58,47,347
Total no. of cases worldwide

38,07,276
Total no. of deaths worldwide

Source: WHO/Johns Hopkins

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