TheCable

A single dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine can reduce symptoms of the coronavirus by more than 90 percent, a study by Danuta Skowronski and Gaston De Serres, researchers based in Canada, has shown.

According to the researchers, there may be a need to delay administering the second dose of the vaccine, considering the effectiveness of the first.

They noted that with the results, there would be better chances of ensuring that a larger population receives the COVID vaccine, since the first dose offers significant protection in terms of reducing severe symptoms.

“We used documents submitted to the Food and Drug Administration to derive the vaccine efficacy beginning from 2 weeks after the first dose to before the second dose. Even before the second dose, BNT162b2 was highly efficacious, with a vaccine efficacy of 92.6%,” the report reads.

“With such a highly protective first dose, the benefits derived from a scarce supply of vaccine could be maximized by deferring second doses until all priority group members are offered at least one dose.

“There may be uncertainty about the duration of protection with a single dose, but the administration of a second dose within 1 month after the first, as recommended, provides little added benefit in the short term, while high-risk persons who could have received a first dose with that vaccine supply are left completely unprotected.”

Meanwhile, another study carried out with the support of the Israeli health ministry found that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine greatly reduces risk of transmission of the virus.

According to Reuters, the research showed that the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine reduces infection in asymptomatic cases by 89.4 percent, while in patients showing symptoms, it decreased by 93.7 percent.

The study is said to have analysed data collected between January 17 and February 6, with focus on individuals who had received their second Pfizer doses.