Covid-19: Two shots of Pfizer, AstraZeneca vaccines effective against India variant, says study

London - The first dose of both vaccines was 33% effective against symptomatic disease from B.1.617.2 after three weeks, lower than its 50% effectiveness against B.1.1.7.

A double dose of Covid-19 vaccines is almost as effective against the fast-spreading variant of the coronavirus first identified in India as it is against Britain’s dominant strain, English health officials said on Saturday.

Britain’s health minister said the data was groundbreaking and he was increasingly hopeful that the government would be able to lift more Covid restrictions next month.

A study by Public Health England found the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 88 per cent effective against symptomatic disease from the B.1.617.2 variant two weeks after the second dose.

That compared with 93 per cent effectiveness against the B.1.1.7 “Kent” strain which is Britain’s dominant Covid variant.

Two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were 60 per cent effective against symptomatic disease from the Indian variant compared with 66 per cent effectiveness against the Kent variant, PHE said.

“I’m increasingly confident that we’re on track for the roadmap, because this data shows that the vaccine, after two doses, works just as effectively (against the Indian variant),” Health Secretary Matt Hancock told broadcasters.

Under the government’s plans, a lifting of remaining coronavirus restrictions is due to take place from June 21.

Britain has rushed out Europe’s fastest vaccination programme so far but it has faced a new challenge from the spread of the variant first found in India.