Fears jab fades after 6 months

FINDINGS from a new Covid study appear to show a drop in protection against the virus six months after receiving a second vaccination.

It is understood that after the full dose of Pfizer/BioNTech or AstraZeneca, the highest level of cover only lasts for six months and fell to 50 per cent in some cases.

The Zoe Covid Study – involving 1.2million participants – revealed the Pfizer jab was

88 per cent effective at preventing severe side effects one month after the second dose. But after five to six months’ protection, it dropped to 74 per cent.

A similar fall was seen with AstraZeneca, which provided 77 per cent protection against infection one month after the second dose. But four to five months down the line, it fell to to 67 per cent.

However, researchers say that while protection appears to decrease continuously, the risk facing each individual may change due to variations in antibody duration.

Professor Tim Spector, lead scientist on the project, said: “A reasonable worstcase scenario could see protection below 50 per cent for elderly and healthcare workers by winter. If there are high levels of infection in the UK – driven by loosened social restrictions and a highly transmissible variant – this could mean increased hospitalisations and deaths.

“We urgently need to make plans for vaccine boosters and, based on vaccine resources, decide if a strategy to vaccinate children is sensible if our aim is to reduce deaths and hospital admissions.”

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has asked Ireland to halt plans to give booster shots. Dr David Nabarro, a special envoy on Covid, said if it begins to use doses to boost the immunity of the public, it would take vaccines away from poorer countries.

He said: “If Ireland say, ‘We don’t think there’s a case for our people to be given booster shots’, then other countries may listen.”

HSE chief Paul Reid revealed the gap between adults who are partially and fully vaccinated continues to close. Almost 86 per cent of all adults are fully vaccinated and 91 per cent are partially covered. In the 12 to 15 age group, more than 144,000 have registered and 88,000 have received the jab.