Coronavirus: Vaccination

(asked on 19th January 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of concerns raised by recipients of the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine about the Government's decision to extend the time between the administration of the first and second doses of the vaccine; what steps they are taking to assure recipients of the first dose of its efficacy; and what plans they have to publish guidance about the efficacy level of a single dose.


Answered by
Lord Bethell Portrait
Lord Bethell
This question was answered on 23rd April 2021

Public confidence in the vaccine programme is of paramount importance. The Government will continue to provide clear and regular updates to the public on progress and the impact of the programme, including publishing evidence on the effectiveness of the vaccines and data on adverse reactions to the vaccines.

Public Health England (PHE) has been monitoring the effectiveness of the vaccines, including the effects of dosage schedules. NHS England regularly publishes guidance and runs public information campaigns on the vaccines, to ensure the public is fully aware and informed. Data from PHE’s SIREN study shows that both available vaccines, Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca, provide high protection against COVID-19 infections after a single dose, beyond 56 days of having been vaccinated. A copy of Public Health England’s Annex A: Report to JCVI on estimated efficacy of a single dose of Pfizer BioNTech (BNT162b2 mRNA) vaccine and of a single dose of ChAdOx1 vaccine (AZD1222) is attached.

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