Both the Pfizer and Modern COVID-19 vaccines provide effective protection from the novel virus even after the first shot.
According to a real world study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, both vaccines reduced the risk of infection by 80% two weeks after the first dose, reported Reuters.
Two weeks after receiving the second shot, protection increased to 90%, per the agency's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The study looked at 4,000 health care professionals and other first responders in eight locations between mid-December to mid-March. The study evaluated the ability to protect against infections, including asymptomatic infections.
“The authorized mRNA COVID-19 vaccines provided early, substantial real-world protection against infection for our nation’s healthcare personnel, first responders, and other frontline essential workers,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement.
The study’s findings further confirmed results of the vaccines’ efficacy in large-scale clinical trials.
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"This study is tremendously encouraging," Walensky said earlier this week at a White House COVID-19 briefing. "These findings also underscore the importance of getting both of the recommended doses of the vaccine in order to get the greatest level of protection against Covid-19, especially as our concerns about variants escalate."
As of Monday, more than 95 million people in the US have received at least one dose, while approximately 52.6 million people have been fully vaccinated, the CDC noted, per CNN.
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