SoKor: AZ, Pfizer jabs 87% effective after first shot

SEOUL (Reuters) – One dose of COVID-19 vaccines from AstraZeneca Plc and Pfizer was 86.6 percent effective in preventing infections among people aged 60 and older, real world data released by South Korea showed yesterday.

Data by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency showed the Pfizer vaccine, jointly developed by BioNTech , was 89.7 percent effective in preventing infection at least two weeks after a first dose was given, while the AstraZeneca shot was 86.0 percent effective.

Its analysis is based on more than 3.5 million people in South Korea aged 60 and older for two months from Feb. 26 and included 521,133 people who received a first dose of either Pfizer or AstraZeneca shot.

There were 1,237 COVID-19 cases in the data and only 29 were from the vaccinated group, the KDCA said.

“It is shown that both vaccines provide a high protection against the disease after the first dose. (People) should get full vaccinations according to recommended schedule, as the protection rate will go up further after a second dose,” it said.

The findings come as South Korea seeks to drum up participation in its immunization drive after reports about potential safety issues discouraged some people from getting vaccinated.