Two doses of COVID-19 vaccine reduces chances of coronavirus by 3 times: Study

Both doses of COVID-19 vaccine reduces the chances of contracting COVID-19 to one-third, as per a study conducted in UK.

New Delhi: The chances of contracting COVID-19 after getting both doses of COVID-19 vaccine is down to one-third as per a study in UK the data of which was released on Wednesday. The study was conducted by scientists at Imperial College London and market research company Ipsos MORI based on 98,233 swabs taken between June 24 and July 12.

The study points to a prevalence rate of 0.40 % for the fully vaccinated but the rate nearly trebles at 1.21% for unvaccinated respondents in a pool of 160 people infected with coronavirus. Also, it found double vaccinated people are less likely to pass on the SARS virus to others than those who have not received a vaccine.

"I urge anyone who has yet to receive a vaccine to get jabbed and take up both doses the vaccines are safe and they are working," the UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid was quoted by PTI.

Meanwhile, the Public Health England (PHE) revealed that the vaccines are "highly effective" against all variants of COVID-19. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is 96% effective and the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine is 92% effective against hospitalisation after getting the double shot, as per a PTI report.

However, officials and scientists in Britain appealed for caution even as the government eased all COVID-19 curbs on July 19, including the mandatory mask rule in certain indoor settings.