UK's real-world analysis suggests 2 AstraZeneca shots 85-90% effective

LONDON

Public Health England said on Thursday that two doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine are around 85-90% effective against the symptomatic disease.

Significantly, the analysis was based on real-world data from the UK’s world-leading vaccination program, and is the first of its kind into the efficacy of two doses of AstraZeneca.

Meanwhile, the latest UK government figures show that over 37.2 million people have received their first dose of vaccine, or 70.7% of the adult population, and over 21.2 million people have received their second, or 40.3% of the adult population.

Over the past 24 hours, there have been a further 2,874 cases across the country, bringing the total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to over 4.4 million, and a further seven deaths, bringing the total number of deaths to 127,701.

Public Health England also reported that there were now 3,424 cases of the Indian COVID-19 variant in the UK as of May 19, up from 2,111 cases over the previous week.

Thursday also saw Prince William, 38, announced that he gotten his first dose of vaccine this week.

The duke of Cambridge, who is the second in line to the throne, posted on Twitter a picture of him getting jabbed. It is unknown whether his wife Kate, the duchess of Cambridge, 39, has been vaccinated.

He tweeted alongside his photo: “On Tuesday I received my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. To all those working on the vaccine rollout – thank you for everything you’ve done and continue to do.”

Prince William tested positive for coronavirus in April 2020.