May 20, 2021

expert reaction to the latest COVID-19 vaccine surveillance report from PHE: 20 May 2021

Public Health England (PHE) has published its latest weekly COVID-19 vaccine surveillance report, including data on the second dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.

Dr Michael Head, Senior Research Fellow in Global Health, University of Southampton, said:

“It is reassuring to see the data from both the Pfizer and Oxford AstraZeneca vaccines. They are essentially comparable in terms of effectiveness against symptomatic disease, which is very high after two doses.

“Oxford AstraZeneca really is an excellent vaccine. It will be a key weapon in the global rollout, and a key tool for use in lower income countries.

“In the global north, we must be careful with how we implement our policies as they could have consequences elsewhere. There have been anecdotal reports of hesitancy in Malawi¹. Collaborative research between University of Southampton and Ghanaian partners² showed high willingness (82%) to be vaccinated as of March 2021, and work is ongoing to measure the possible impact within the Ghana population of the recent ‘scares’ around the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine.”

¹ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-57168841    

² https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/Examining_drivers_of_COVID-19_vaccine_hesitancy_in_Ghana/14494851

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-vaccine-surveillance-report

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