Page 12 - aruba-today-20210204

A12 HEALTH
Thursday 4 February 2021
Study finds COVID-19 vaccine may reduce virus transmission

By DANICA KIRKA and LAU- a matter of months, rather
RAN NEERGAARD than the huge efforts that
Associated Press everyone went through last
AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 year to get the very large-
vaccine does more than scale trials run,” Pollard told
prevent people from falling the BBC.
seriously ill — it appears to Meanwhile, a U.N.-backed
reduce transmission of the program to supply COV-
virus and offers strong pro- ID-19 vaccines to the need-
tection for three months on iest people worldwide is
just a single dose, research- gearing up after a troubled
ers said Wednesday in an start. The COVAX Facility
encouraging turn in the announced plans Wednes-
campaign to suppress the day for an initial distribution
outbreak. of some 100 million doses
The preliminary findings by the end of March and
from Oxford University, a more than 200 million more
co-developer of the vac- by the end of June to doz-
cine, could vindicate the ens of countries.
British government’s con- Nearly all of the doses ex-
troversial strategy of delay- pected for the first phase
ing the second shot for up are due to come from As-
to 12 weeks so that more AstraZeneca vaccine is ready to be used at a homeless shelter in Romford, east London, traZeneca and its partner,
Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021.
people can be quickly giv- Associated Press the Serum Institute of India.
en a first dose. Up to now, The AstraZeneca vaccine
the recommended time shots into more arms more positive swabs — from both increase up to 12 weeks af- rollout will be contingent on
between doses has been quickly. those who had COVID-19 ter the initial shot. the World Health Organiza-
four weeks. The makers of all three symptoms and those who “Our data suggest you tion authorizing the shot for
The research could also vaccines have said that had none – was 67% lower want to be as close to the emergency use, which is
bring scientists closer to the shots proved in clini- in the vaccinated group. 12 weeks as you can” for expected to happen this
an answer to one of the cal trials to be anywhere “That’s got to have a really the second dose, Pangalos month.
big questions about the from 70% to 95% effective beneficial effect on trans- said. Some 190 countries and
vaccination drive: Will the in protecting people from mission,” Oxford lead re- British Health Secretary Matt territories are participating
vaccines actually curb the illness caused by the virus. searcher Sarah Gilbert said Hancock said the study in COVAX, which has seen
spread of the coronavirus? But it was unclear whether at a meeting of the New “backs the strategy that rich nations scoop up vac-
It’s not clear what implica- the vaccines could also York Academy of Sciences. we’ve taken” to make sure cine supplies, sometimes at
tions, if any, the findings suppress transmission of The researchers also looked more people have gotten premium prices.
might have for the two the virus — that is, whether at how likely people who at least one shot to protect The pandemic’s worldwide
other major vaccines be- someone inoculated could have been vaccinated them. Britain’s decision has death toll has eclipsed 2.2
ing used in the West, Pfizer’s still acquire the virus with- are to get a symptom-free been criticized as risky by million, including about
and Moderna’s. out getting sick and spread infection. In one subset of other European countries. 447,000 in the U.S., accord-
In the United States, Dr. An- it to someone else. volunteers, there were 16 He said that the authors ing to Johns Hopkins Univer-
thony Fauci, the nation’s As a result, experts have asymptomatic infections themselves acknowledged sity data.
top infectious disease ex- been saying that even among the vaccinated their research was not de- New cases per day in the
pert, dismissed the idea of people who have been and 31 in an unvaccinated signed to investigate the U.S. and the number of
deliberately delaying sec- vaccinated should con- comparison group. vaccine’s dosing schedule Americans in the hospi-
ond shots, saying the U.S. tinue to wear masks and Pfizer and Moderna also and that their conclusions tal with COVID-19 have
will “go by the science” keep their distance from are studying the effect of were based on statistical dropped sharply in the past
and data from the clini- others. their vaccines on asymp- modeling, not actual pa- few weeks, but deaths are
cal trials. The two doses of Oxford’s study, however, tomatic infections. tients tracked over time. still running at close to all-
the Pifzer and Moderna found that the vaccine not Only the Pfizer and Mod- “It certainly isn’t very strong time highs at an average of
vaccines are supposed to only prevented severe dis- erna vaccines are being evidence, but there is also around 3,100 a day. Deaths
given three and four weeks ease but appeared to cut used in the United States. no indication this is the often lag behind the infec-
apart. transmission of the virus by Britain is using both Astra- wrong thing to do,” Evans tion curve, because it can
Still, the research appears two-thirds. The study has Zeneca’s and Pfizer’s. As- said of Britain’s decision to take weeks to sicken and
to be good news in the not been peer-reviewed traZeneca’s has also been delay second doses. die from COVID-19.
desperate effort to curb yet. authorized by the 27-na- One of the lead Oxford As the Super Bowl ap-
the spread of the virus and Volunteers in the study tion European Union. Pfizer researchers, Dr. Andrew proaches, Fauci is warn-
also suggests a way to ease underwent regular nasal has not endorsed the British Pollard, said scientists also ing viewers to “just lay low
vaccine shortages and get swabs. The level of virus- government’s decision to believe the AstraZeneca and cool it” to avoid turn-
lengthen the time between vaccine will continue to ing Sunday’s big game into
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