Research conducted by experts from the Public Health Service in England shows that the American Pfizer (BioNTech vaccine in Germany) and the British AstraZeneca are quite effective against the Indian variant of COVID-19.
The research results published by the service show that the effectiveness of Pfizer against the Indian strain of coronavirus two weeks after the introduction of two doses reaches 88%, AstraZeneca – 60%.
“I’m more and more convinced that we are on track to implement the roadmap, because this data shows that the vaccine after two doses works effectively (against the Indian version) ”, – said in this regard, UK Health Minister Matt Hancock.
The data is groundbreaking, he said, and he hopes the government will be able to lift more coronavirus-related restrictions next month, in line with its roadmap. According to government plans, the lifting of the remaining restrictions on coronavirus should begin on June 21.
The Indian vaccine Covaxin made by Bharat Biotech is also found to be affective against the Indian variant, but is not in the WHO’s Emergency Use Listing (EUL), a prerequisite for COVAX Facility vaccine supply. The vaccine also suffered an image problem because of Modi Governmnt’s questionable approval for emergency use when the vaccine was in the third stage of trial.
At the end of March, a new variant of the double mutation coronavirus, also known as B.1.617, was discovered in India. This variant is more contagious than the “regular” SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, first identified in China’s Wuhan province in early 2020. Prior to this, it became known about the “British” and “Brazilian” variants of the coronavirus, which also differed in increased infectivity compared to the “Wuhan” coronavirus. The Indian government has said that B.1.617 has not been called the Indian variant by the WHO.