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By Kelly jane turner 
1 hour ago
The AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine has been shown to provide full protection against serious illness and to keep people out of the hospital for more than three weeks after the first dose, based on results from phase three clinical trials in the UK, Brazil, and South Africa.
Part of the trial consisted of more than 1000 South African participants.
The study, which was published in the health journal The Lancet, found that the vaccine provides about 76% protection after the first dose, and after an interval between doses of 12 weeks or more, the effectiveness of the vaccine increased. 82%.
South Africa received its first million doses of the Covid-19 Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine from the Serum Institute of India (SII) on Monday.
However, the country will still have to wait another 10-14 days for the first dose to be administered, as quality controls will be carried out before the start of the three-phase immunization campaign.
Researchers in the trials led by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca said the analysis also showed the potential of the vaccine to reduce asymptomatic transmission of the virus.
More than 17,000 seronegative trial participants, or people who tested negative for the virus, were eligible for inclusion in the efficacy analysis. In the UK, about 9,000 people were tested, 6,000 in Brazil and 1,476 people in South Africa.
In an AstraZeneca news release, Executive Vice President for Biopharmaceutical Research and Development Sir Mene Pangalos said the analysis reconfirmed that the vaccine prevented serious illness and kept people out of the hospital.
“In addition, extending the dosing interval not only increases the effectiveness of the vaccine, it also allows more people to get vaccinated in advance. Together with the new findings on reducing transmission, we believe this vaccine will have a real impact on the pandemic. “
Oxford Vaccine Trial Lead Investigator and paper co-author Professor Andrew Pollard said: “Helps support the policy recommendation made by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization for a 12-week prime and boost interval, they seek the optimal approach to implement and ensures that people are protected 22 days after a single dose of the vaccine. “
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