They recommend that two standard doses of the vaccine should be given at 8- to 12-week intervals, for people aged 18 and older. This is the current strategy adopted by the United Kingdom. Clinical trials have shown that this dosing regimen is safe and effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19.
In a study led by researchers from the South African University of Witwatersrand and the University of Oxford, the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine has been found to have “minimal protection” against mild to moderate cases of the South African Covid-19 variant.
dditionally, the Oxford vaccine may be effective in reducing transmission of coronavirus. Based on swabs obtained from volunteers in the UK, there was a 67% reduction in positive tests among those who had been vaccinated.
In a pre-print published in The Lancet, which is yet to undergo peer-review, the researchers found that the Oxford vaccine had a similar effectiveness against the Kent variant than previous variants. It was also shown to decrease the viral load in people who have been vaccinated, meaning they are less likely to infect others.
I would argue that the vaccine rollout has been one of the few British successes to quietly emerge from the pandemic, primarily as the government has taken a step back and left it to non-partisan public bodies to head the process.
The study, which looks at the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on mortality trends, reported an increase of 15.1% in the number of deaths compared with the expected level for 2020.
"If we have sufficient evidence to support the hypothesis of developed immunity, then the policy of immunity passports should be seriously considered. "
The European Medicines Agency has approved the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for use in adults. The vaccine is the third to be given approval from the regulator.
Average life satisfaction, measured out of 10, has fallen by 9% to 4.8 compared to 5.3 in November. Self-reported anxiety levels remained unchanged for students, but at 5.2 out of 10 students report a statistically significantly higher level of anxiety than the general population
Initial laboratory tests indicate that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is effective against the B117 variant which emerged in Kent. However, there are concerns that variants which emerged in Brazil and South Africa may be resistant to the vaccines being rolled out worldwide.
Before the March 2020 lockdown, high travel volumes and lax restrictions on international travel led to the circulation of more than 1,000 identifiable UK transmission lineages which had persisted into the summer of the same year.
A Cherwell survey has found that 57% of respondents were not satisfied with their college’s handling of self-isolation last term. One student commented that...
