New analysis by Public Health England (PHE) shows for the first
time that two doses of the COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective
against hospitalisation from the Delta (B.1.61.2) variant.
The analysis suggests:
- The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 96% effective against
hospitalisation after 2 doses.
- The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is 92% effective against
hospitalisation after 2 doses.
These are comparable with vaccine effectiveness against
hospitalisation from the Alpha variant.
Further work remains underway to establish the level of
protection against mortality from the Delta variant. However, as
with other variants, this is expected to be high.
The analysis included 14,019 cases of the Delta variant – 166 of
whom were hospitalised – between 12 April and 4 June, looking at
emergency hospital admissions in England.
PHE has previously published
analysis showing that one dose is 17% less effective at
preventing symptomatic illness from the Delta variant, compared
to Alpha, but there is only a small difference after two doses.
Health and Social Care Secretary said:
“Our UK vaccination programme continues at pace and has already
saved thousands of lives. It is our way out of this pandemic.
“This evidence of the effectiveness of two doses against variants
shows just how crucial it is to get your second jab.
"If you have had your first dose but haven’t booked your second
yet – please do so. It will help save lives and boost us on the
road to recovery.”
Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation at
PHE, said:
“These hugely important findings confirm that the vaccines offer
significant protection against hospitalisation from the Delta
variant.
“The vaccines are the most important tool we have against
COVID-19. Thousands of lives have already been saved because of
them.
“It is absolutely vital to get both doses as soon as they are
offered to you, to gain maximum protection against all existing
and emerging variants.”
Vaccines Minister said:
“It is extremely encouraging to see today’s research showing that
vaccines are continuing to help break the link between
hospitalisation and the Delta variant after one dose, and
particularly the high effectiveness of two doses.
“If you’re getting the call to bring forward your second dose
appointment - do not delay - get the second jab so you can
benefit from the fullest possible protection.”
Separate PHE analysis indicates that the COVID-19 vaccination
programme has so far prevented 14,000 deaths and around 42,000
hospitalisations in older people in England, up to 30 May.
