Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccine Proven 88% Effective Against COVID-19 Delta Variant

The COVID-19 delta variant had already affected more than 10 states in the US and is continuously surging not only across the country but in other parts of the world as well. Amidst the increase of new delta variant positive cases, experts were able to study the efficacy of various COVID-19 vaccines. Based on the research, Pfizer's vaccine has the highest efficacy rate against the SARS-CoV-2, with a whopping 88 percent.

Pfizer Vaccine Complete Dosage Almost 90 Percent Effective Against the Latest COVID-19 Variant

The examination of the presently available vaccines against the latest COVID-19 delta variant was conducted via sequencing procedure. Over the course of the laboratory research, 38,000 linked sequences were tested. The study was conducted by biomedical experts and published their findings in The New England Journal of Medicine, entitled "Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccines against the B.1.617.2 (Delta) Variant."

The COVID-19 delta variant study also included examinations of the reaction of the available vaccines towards the symptomatic diseases and other predominant strains recorded in the surge of the new coronavirus variant. The study determined that the 2 complete doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against the initial alpha variant have an efficacy of 93.7 percent and against the new delta variant with an efficacy of 88 percent. The authors of the study concluded that the effectiveness of 2 jabs of the Pfizer vaccines is fortunately high regarding protection from COVID-19's latest variant.

Compared to the efficacy of 2 doses, the efficacy of 1 dose of the Pfizer vaccine against the delta variant was only 30.7 percent, which is significantly lower. With this, the medical authorities suggest acquiring both vaccines to prevent further infliction caused by the delta variant. Along with the Pfizer vaccine, the study examined other COVID-19 vaccines, including the AstraZeneca vaccine that is widely used in large regions of the United Kingdom.

The AstraZeneca vaccine was also found effective against the delta variant, with 76 percent efficacy compared to the 74.55 percent against the alpha variant, reports Fox29.

COVID-19 Delta Variant 200 Percent More Transmissible than 2019 SARS-CoV-2

The recent examination supported the initial study of the vaccines conducted by Public Health England and was published in the journal medRxiv entitled "Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against the B.1.617.2 variant."

On the other hand, both the studies contradict the paper published by the health ministry of Israel, in which the findings conclude in only a 64 percent efficacy rate against the delta variant.

Pfizer and other vaccine's potency against the new variant is a great relief for many as the delta variant cases increases in many countries. In India, there were over 400,000 positive cases recorded as of the late first quarter of 2021. Medical authorities worldwide are setting up more initiatives to prevent the spread of the delta variant, which is confirmed to be 200 percent more transmissible than the first coronavirus variant in 2019. Thankfully, over 160 million people in the United States were already vaccinated as of the third quarter of 2021.

Check out more news and information on COVID-19 in Science Times.