Beautiful Virgin Islands

Saturday, Sep 06, 2025

Pfizer & AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines ‘highly effective’ in vulnerable people in UK, study of 1 million jab recipients finds

Pfizer & AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines ‘highly effective’ in vulnerable people in UK, study of 1 million jab recipients finds

The Covid-19 vaccines made by Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech are just as effective in people with underlying conditions as the rest of the population, a UK study of one million participants has shown.
Last year the British government advised clinically extremely vulnerable people to stay at home – known as “shielding” – to protect themselves from the virus, before dropping its recommendation last month

Conditions including diabetes, severe asthma, and diseases that weaken the immune system – like blood cancer – have all been linked to an increased risk of hospitalisation or death from Covid-19.

On Friday, the government said a Public Health England (PHE) study had shown that people with such conditions are protected against symptomatic infection by two doses of the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines – the UK’s most widely used Covid jabs.

The report, published in preprint format without being peer-reviewed, showed an efficacy of 60% among at-risk groups for either vaccine after one dose.

After a second dose, this rises to 81% for AstraZeneca among the ‘at risk’ 16-64 age cohort, PHE said in a statement.

For people in at-risk groups aged 65 and over, the efficacy is 89% for Pfizer and 80% with AstraZeneca.

For people with weakened immune systems, the efficacy for either jab after a first dose is only 4%, although this rises substantially to 74% after a second dose.

“This real-world data shows for the first time that most people who are clinically vulnerable to Covid-19 still receive high levels of protection after two doses of vaccine,” Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation at PHE, said.

The study’s authors addressed the relatively low protection of 4% that one dose of the vaccines offers immunosuppressed people.

The result “stands out,” they said, but they added that once people with weakened immune systems get a second dose they would only see a “minor reduction in vaccine effectiveness” compared to people who aren’t clinically vulnerable.

In the UK, more than 86% of people have received a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, while 65% have received a second dose, according to the latest data from Thursday.

The government reduced the interval between doses for clinically vulnerable people from 12 to 8 weeks in May, and it now says everyone in this group should have been offered a second dose.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Brand-New $1 Million Yacht Sinks Just Fifteen Minutes After Maiden Launch in Turkey
Here’s What the FBI Seized in John Bolton Raid — and the Legal Risks He Faces
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Queen Camilla’s Teenage Courage: Fended Off Attempted Assault on London Train, New Biography Reveals
Scottish Brothers Set Record in Historic Pacific Row
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
×