Effectiveness 14 Days After Vaccination: AZ Vaccine 92.2% · Pfizer Vaccine 100%
On the 1st, when COVID-19 vaccinations began for elderly people aged 75 and over, medical staff were preparing the Pfizer vaccine at the vaccination center set up in the Sports and Culture Center in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ji-hee] As of the 8th, among more than 760,000 people vaccinated against COVID-19 in South Korea, 83 cases of infection have been reported. Among these, 40 cases were confirmed after the 14-day antibody formation period following vaccination.
According to the first-quarter vaccine effectiveness report released by the Central Disease Control Headquarters on the 11th, out of 767,253 people who completed one dose of vaccination by the 8th, 83 were infected with COVID-19. The incidence rate was 10.9 cases per 100,000 vaccinated individuals. Among 706,635 people vaccinated with the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine, 79 infections were reported, resulting in an incidence rate of 11.2 per 100,000. For the 60,618 Pfizer vaccine recipients, 4 cases were confirmed, corresponding to 6.6 per 100,000.
This survey analyzed 907,531 individuals eligible for COVID-19 vaccination in the first quarter by investigating infection status among vaccinated and unvaccinated groups. The analysis excluded 2,904 people who were confirmed positive before vaccination, resulting in a target population of 904,627. The unvaccinated group consisted of 137,374 individuals who did not receive the vaccine among the first-quarter eligible population.
There were 40 cases (6.2 per 100,000 vaccinated) confirmed 14 days after AZ vaccination, while no cases were confirmed among Pfizer vaccine recipients during the same period.
Meanwhile, among 137,374 unvaccinated individuals during the period, 109 were confirmed positive for COVID-19, with an incidence rate of 79.3 per 100,000.
Accordingly, the vaccine effectiveness confirmed among all first-quarter vaccination targets since February 26 was 85.9% for the AZ vaccine and 91.7% for the Pfizer vaccine. Vaccine effectiveness confirmed 14 days after one dose was 92.2% for AZ and 100% for Pfizer.
However, health authorities cautioned that these results should be interpreted carefully as they do not adjust for differences in observation periods after vaccination for each subject. They also plan to monitor weekly changes in effectiveness as observation periods lengthen and continue evaluating vaccine effectiveness for second-quarter vaccination targets.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
