Finally some amazing news on the COVID-19 front. According to The New England Journal of Medicine, the Pfizer vaccine has a 92.6% efficacy after just one dose. And it can be safely stored in ordinary freezers instead of ultracold, as initially believed.
The new discovery is not only encouraging but is also a strong argument for delaying the second dose.
“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,” the journal states.
The new findings give the U.K. and other governments hope and time, given limited supplies of the vaccine.
According to the Wall Street Journal, nearly one-third of the U.K.’s adult population has now received at least one vaccine shot. In other parts of Canada and Europe, health authorities have delayed the first shot, in an effort to make sure they have enough vaccine for the booster when needed.
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“Given the current vaccine shortage, postponement of the second dose is a matter of national security that, if ignored, will certainly result in thousands of Covid-19–related hospitalizations and deaths this winter in the United States — hospitalizations and deaths that would have been prevented with a first dose of vaccine,” the journal states.
The Jerusalem Post reports that according to data from Sheba Medical Center, coronavirus infections were reduced by 75% after just one shot of the Pfizer vaccine.
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