Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — A recent medical study suggests that Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines are effective at significantly reducing hospitalizations and the risk of contracting the disease.

Preliminary findings from a study found that there were 85 percent fewer hospital admissions for people who received the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine compared with those who were not vaccinated.

Similarly, one shot of Oxford/AstraZeneca’s version was tied to a reduction in hospitalizations of up 94 percent.

The medical study, which was published in an article in the journal BMJ on Feb. 22, which is related to the follow-up of group exposure (Prospective cohort study) to the COVID-19 vaccine, was conducted in Scotland in the United Kingdom specifically on 1,137,775 people, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

These people were vaccinated between the period from Dec. 8, 2020 to Feb. 15, 2021 among the target group in the first phase of the coronavirus vaccine (the elderly, and chronic disease groups with ages of 18 years and above) out of a total of 5.4 million people.

The results of the study showed the success of both vaccines in reducing the period of hospitalization significantly 28 days after receiving the vaccine in the event that the person was infected with coronavirus even after the first dose.

This study is considered as the first at a national population level in Scotland to evaluate the licensed and used vaccines in the fight against the pandemic based on the dangerous outcomes of infection of the virus, noting that the results of the study may be scientifically and practically generalized in an excellent way to the rest of the United Kingdom as well as to the rest of the countries that use a similar vaccine program for both the vaccines.

The study recommended continuous evaluation and monitoring of the effectiveness of these licensed vaccines used in the United Kingdom on the remaining segments of the society.