RELATED: 96 Percent of People Who Get the Pfizer Vaccine Have This In Common. According to a recent study conducted between April 5 and May 16 by Public Health England, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 88 percent effective against symptomatic disease from the B.1.617.2 COVID variant two weeks after the second dose. The new research also showed that the vaccine was 93 percent effective two weeks after the second dose against the “British variant” B.1.1.7 that has become the dominant strain in the U.K. after being discovered there in December. “I’m increasingly confident that we’re on track for the roadmap [for reopening], because this data shows that the vaccine, after two doses, works just as effectively [against the Indian variant],” U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said in a press release. RELATED: Pfizer’s Vaccine Protects You for at Least This Long, Study Finds. The study also found that the shots also lowered the likelihood of serious outcomes from the India variant, which has spread to almost 50 countries including the U.S. and was labeled a “variant of concern” by the World Health Organization (WHO) in early May. “Vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic disease from the B.1.617.2 variant is similar after 2 doses compared to the B.1.1.7 (Kent) variant dominant in the U.K., and we expect to see even higher levels of effectiveness against hospitalization and death,” the study authors wrote.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb However, results also found that the first dose of the two-shot Pfizer vaccine was just 33 percent effective against B.1.617.2 after three weeks, compared with being 50 percent effective against B.1.1.7. Hancock said the most recent research highlights “how important the second dose is to secure the strongest possible protection” against the spread of COVID-19 and its variants, adding that receiving both shots is “absolutely vital.” RELATED: These 2 Vaccines Are Effective Against the New India Variant, Study Finds.
