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COVID-19 vaccines tremendously cut risk of hospitalisation, Scottish study finds

WION Web Team
New Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Feb 22, 2021, 08:52 PM IST
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AstraZeneca Covid vaccine (file photo) Photograph:(Reuters)

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Scotland recently announced that its vaccination drive has successfully reduced the risk of hospitalisation for COVID-19 patients

Scotland recently announced that its vaccination drive has successfully reduced the risk of hospitalisation for COVID-19 patients. According to the data, both Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines were effective in limiting the scope of severe infections.

The preliminary findings from the study were published on Monday. The study was led by Aziz Sheikh, a professor at the University of Edinburgh, who said that the results of the study "are very encouraging'', while adding that the results instil a sense of optimism for the future.
 

The study covered the entire Scottish population of 5.4 million people. It found that by the fourth week after receiving the initial dose, Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines decreased the risk of hospitalisation among patients by 85 per cent and 94 per cent respectively.

However, Sheikh warned that the results published so far are preliminary and that the data is still awaiting peer-reviews by independent scientists. To a media briefing, he said the following - "I am very encouraged. We now have national evidence ... that vaccination provides protection against COVID-19 hospitalisations."

Sheikh claimed that if other countries employed the rolling out techniques in place in England and Wales, a similar positive impact in terms of hospitalisations would be expected. 

The data was collected between December 8 and February 15. During this time, 1.14 million vaccines were administered among citizens, with 21 per cent of Scotland's population receiving the first dose.

Also read: India's Serum Institute says prioritising domestic vaccine needs, asks for patience

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to reveal how he intends to ease lockdown restrictions as cases continue to decline owing to one of the world's fastest vaccine roll-outs.