UK coronavirus infection rate drops

The recent vaccine rollout in England is already showing results, with a significant 70% drop in the number of coronavirus afflictions among healthcare staff that has received at least one shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. 

The data was made public by health officials in the British health ministry.

The Pfizer vaccine offers adequate protection from the coronavirus in one doze.

The data analyzed by Public Health England (PHE) revealed that one dose of the Pfizer vaccine was enough to protect people from coronavirus disease. 

This is good news, as it means the number of deaths and hospital admissions especially among elderly people will reduce. 

A director for PHE, Susan Hopkins, during a speech to reporters said the agency is witnessing a strong reduction in coronavirus cases after people received the vaccine. 

Mary Ramsay, PHE's director for immunization, said the data gotten from the agency's research is irrefutable proof that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is strong enough to stop people from getting infected and reducing the impact of the coronavirus on the body's system. 

The agency also discovered that the vaccine was also efficient against the British form of the virus. 

PHE's research covered healthcare workers and elderly people 

The research carried out by the agency analyzed two groups of people that had received the vaccine- NHS workers and elderly people. 

It was observed that a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine was 56% effective against visible symptoms of the coronavirus and that the second dose of the vaccine protected the group from the virus by more than 84%.

A statement from the agency said that hospitalization and death rates along patients in all age groups have reduced, but the rate among elderly people has declined the fastest. 

PHE's result comes after an initial study carried out by Scotland health authorities showed that the vaccine rollout was already affecting the hospitalization and death rates. 

The results from the Scottish researchers also showed that the available vaccines- Pfizer and the Oxford-AstraZeneca- were both effective against strong variants of the virus.