One dose of Pfizer or Oxford jab reduces Covid infection rate by 65% – study

[Northerner]

One shot of the Oxford/AstraZeneca or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine reduces coronavirus infections by nearly two-thirds and protects older and more vulnerable people as much as younger, healthy individuals, a study has found.

The results from Oxford University and the Office for National Statistics are a welcome boost to the vaccination programme and the first to show the impact on new infections and immune responses in a large group of adults in the general population.

By driving down rates of infection the vaccines will not only prevent hospitalisations and deaths but help break chains of transmission and so reduce the risk of a damaging resurgence of disease as the UK reopens.

The researchers analysed Covid test results from more than 350,000 people in the UK between December and April. They found that 21 days after a first jab – the time it takes the immune system to mount a decent response – new Covid infections dropped by 65%.

One dose of Pfizer or Oxford jab reduces Covid infection rate by 65% – study

Analysis of test results from more than 350,000 people finds older people just as protected as younger

www.theguardian.com

 

[nonethewiser]

Encouraging news, GMB were discussing this before.

India having terrible time, reported on news bodies lying in street, heart goes out to people there.

 

[Northerner]

Encouraging news, GMB were discussing this before.

India having terrible time, reported on news bodies lying in street, heart goes out to people there.

It is really shocking what is happening in India I hope that, as we are getting things undercontrol, we are able to help them, perhaps with supplies of oxygen or the expertise involved in building field hospitals? OK, I know that the Nightingales weren't used here, but maybe just anything to provide beds and provide some care and dignity for people

 

[Clifton]

Yes it is absolute hell. I have a colleague with many relatives there and the stories coming out of the sub continent are very harrowing.

Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata are where she has connections and it is, quite literally she told me, completely out of control.

The UK may have a tragic death toll which could have been lowered with earlier prompt and decisive government action, but we are one of the luckier countries. Even Canada - Toronto and environs especially - are in one mess.

 

[Amity Island]

Encouraging news, GMB were discussing this before.

India having terrible time, heart goes out to people there.

Mine too, when you see how it has been dealt with over there, spraying sodium hypochlorite onto human beings. How this is supposed to prevent transmisison is anyones guess.

Migrants in India sprayed with disinfectant to fight coronavirus

Outrage as health workers spray migrant workers with disinfectant, amid fears their exodus is spreading the virus.

www.aljazeera.com

Spectrum of sodium hypochlorite toxicity in man—also a concern for nephrologists - PMC

Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) is the active ingredient in household bleach and is a very common chemical. It has been used in medical and commercial situations dating back to the 18th century for its disinfectant properties, including topical use in ...

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 

[mikeyB]

The government in India should hang its head in shame. The world’s largest democracy, it has a space program, and a pharmaceutical industry that is the world’s biggest producer of vaccines. The trains run on time. We send enormous amounts of aid to alleviate poverty to India. That aid does get to where it is needed, mind.

But why is it needed? Because there is no route out of poverty. The caste system still exists. The waiters in the hotels will always be waiters. Railway workers will always be railway workers, with jobs running in families. It’s a very distorted example of democracy which fixes folk in poverty, with overcrowded housing. And nobody minds - that’s the way it works, but the system is exposed in all its glory in this pandemic. There just isn’t the infrastructure to cope, nor is there the unified mindset. Nearly 1.4 billion people live in India. Multiply up our population and you will see that the infection and death rates are broadly similar. Also similar is that the worst affected in the UK are poor people. It’s just more spectacular in India, but it’s a distraction, a shame. The same shame that our government should feel about 130,000 UK citizens dead because of their ineptitude.