Yet another but a vast study has said that vaccination is highly effective at preventing severe cases of Covid-19, even against the Delta variant. The research published on Monday —focusing on prevention of severe Covid and death, not infection—looked at 22 million people over 50 and found those who had received jabs were 90 percent less likely to be hospitalised or die.
The results confirm observations from the US, the UK and Israel, but researchers say it is the largest study of its kind so far.
Looking at data collected starting in December 2020, when France launched its jab campaign, the researchers compared the outcomes of 11 million vaccinated people with 11 million unvaccinated subjects.
They formed pairs matching an unvaccinated individual with a vaccinated counterpart from the same region and of the same age and sex, tracking them from the date of the vaccinated person’s second jab to July 20.
Starting 14 days after a second dose, a vaccinated subjects’ risk of severe Covid was reduced by 90 percent, according to the research conducted by Epi-Phare, an independent medicines safety research group that works closely with the French Government.
Vaccination appears to be nearly as effective against the Delta variant, with 84 percent protection for people 75 and older and 92 percent for people 50-75.