Covid vaccine, hospitalization risk falls by 70%

After two doses of the anti-Covid vaccine, the risk of being hospitalized for a coronavirus infection is reduced by more than two thirds, and a possible new infection is almost double the chances that a possible new infection will be completely asymptomatic. Not only that: in those who have completed the vaccination cycle, the risk of long Covid, forms of the disease with symptoms that persist for at least 28 days after swab positivity, is more than halved. This is what emerges from a large-scale study published in ‘The Lancet Infectious Diseases’, with lead author Claire Steves of King’s College London. Read also The researchers used data from the UK Covid Symptom Study, self-reported information through the Zoe App from 8 December 2020 to 4 July 2021. The authors calculate that, out of over 1.2 million adults who have received at least one dose of Pfizer / BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca or Moderna vaccines, less than 0.5% reported a so-called breakthrough infection more than 14 days after the first dose (6,030 positive cases after 1,240.09 first vaccine doses) . And among the adults who received two doses, less than 0.2% had a reinfection more than 7 days after the second (2,370 positive after 971,504 second doses of the vaccine). new infection was asymptomatic were 63% higher after the first vaccine dose and 94% higher after the second. The risk of hospitalization was reduced by about 70% after one or two doses, while the danger of contracting a serious illness (5 or more symptoms in the first week) appeared about a third lower. After two doses of the vaccine, the chances of long Covid have decreased by 50% In people who have experienced Covid symptoms such as fatigue, cough, fever and loss of taste and smell after one or two doses of the vaccine, almost all disorders were reported less frequently than unvaccinated people.The study also indicates that frail over 60s, with pre-existing diseases (obesity, heart disease, kidney or lung disease) or residents of disadvantaged areas such as densely populated urban contexts, especially after a single injection. In particular, the odds of a breakthrough infection after a dose of the vaccine were almost doubled in the more vulnerable over 60s compared to healthy people. “We are at a critical point in the pandemic, as we see cases increasing worldwide due to Delta variant “of Sars-CoV-2, comments Steves. “Breakthrough infections are expected, but this – specifies the scientist – does not cancel the fact that these vaccines are doing exactly what they were designed for: saving lives and preventing serious diseases. Other research has shown a mortality rate of up to 27%. for hospitalized Covid-19 patients. We can greatly reduce this figure by keeping people out of the hospital, primarily through vaccination. Our results – concludes the author – highlight the crucial role that vaccines play in efforts broader measures aimed at preventing infections, which should however include other personal protection measures such as the use of masks, frequent testing and distancing. “