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A British junior health minister said in an interview on Monday that there is no proof that AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine is not as efficacious against the new strain of the virus.
This comes as South Africa has decided to put a hold on AstraZeneca’s vaccine, citing a low efficacy rate.
Virus strains in UK
Speaking to Sky News , Britain’s Edward Argar said: “There is no evidence that this vaccine is not effective in preventing hospitalisation and severe illness and death, which ultimately is what we’re seeking with these vaccines today.”
He added: “The dominant strains in this country are not the South African strain, there are a small number of cases of that, the dominant strains here are the historic one we’ve had, and then the Kent variant, against which this vaccine is highly effective.”
India approves AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine
British Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi also stated that the jabs “appear to work well” against the variants currently dominant in the UK, BBC reported.
AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine may have reduced efficacy against South African strain: Reports
According to previous studies, the British pharmaceutical’s Covid-19 vaccine had demonstrated 75 per cent efficacy against the wild type virus while it only provides 22 per cent protection against the new variant of the coronavirus.
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