A new study report has suggested that the decision of the United Kingdom to delay the second shot of coronavirus developed by Astra Zeneca and the University of Oxford could be an effective move. The research carried out by researchers at the University of Oxford found that the vaccine is highly effective in preventing symptomatic prevention after the first dose. It should be also noted that the efficacy rate also rose dramatically with a longer interval between the first and second shots.
Vaccine hopes rise high
In the study report published in the journal Preprints with The Lancet, researchers noted that the vaccine efficacy is higher at longer prime-boost intervals.
"The vaccine efficacy is higher at longer prime-boost intervals, and that a single dose of the vaccine is 76% effective from 22- to up to 90-days post-vaccination," wrote the researchers in the study report.
According to researchers who took part in this study, the efficacy rate increased by 82.4 percent when there was at least 12 weeks interval between the first and second doses. However, when the second dose was given less than six weeks after the first shot, the efficacy rate was just 54.9 percent.
"These new data provide important verification of the interim data that was used by more than 25 regulators including the MHRA and EMA to grant the vaccine emergency use authorization. It also supports the policy recommendation made by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) for a 12-week prime-boost interval, as they look for the optimal approach to roll out, and reassures us that people are protected from 22 days after a single dose of the vaccine," said Professor Andrew Pollard, Chief Investigator of the Oxford Vaccine Trial, and the co-author of the study in a recent statement.
Controversies coming to an end
The decision of the UK healthcare authorities to delay the second shot of the coronavirus vaccine had recently turned controversial. Several people claimed that a delay in the second booster dose could lower the efficacy, thus making people prone to COVID-19 infection. Even though the new study report has put these controversies to rest, medical experts believe that further clinical studies with more participants should be carried out to determine the exact efficacy rate timeline between the first and second shots of vaccination.
