A single dose of either Pfizer or AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine reduced COVID-19 infections by 65 percent after 21 days, according to two studies released April 23, CNBC reported.
The studies were based on 1.6 million COVID-19 tests taken by 373,402 people between December and April. Data was collected by the University of Oxford in England, the U.K.‘s Office of National Statistics and the U.K.’s Department for Health and Social Care.
Both symptomatic and asymptomatic COVID-19 cases fell by 65 percent 21 days after a single dose of either Pfizer or AstraZeneca's vaccine. Symptomatic infections fell by 74 percent, and asymptomatic cases fell 57 percent, CNBC reported.
A second vaccine dose reduced the overall infection rate 70 percent, with symptomatic infections down 90 percent and asymptomatic infections down 49 percent, the studies found.
The two vaccines had similar results in reducing infection rates for adults of all ages, CNBC reported. The studies also found that older adults, particularly those over the age of 60, who had never contracted COVID-19 had a lower immune response to a single vaccine dose than those who had been infected before.
David Eyre, an associate professor at Oxford University’s Big Data Institute, told CNBC the studies' findings highlight the importance of getting two doses to increase protection from COVID-19.
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