General practitioner and Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) member Prof. Eva Hummers from the University of Göttingen explains why the AstraZeneca vaccine is actually a very good one – and that it has an especially positive ratio of risk to benefit, particularly for people over 60. Here’s why?
Some people have been unsure about the vaccine given its history but the AstraZeneca vaccine despite being amended twice, serves as one of the best against COVID-19.
The COVID-19 vaccine is like the other COVID-19 vaccines is a highly effective vaccine in all age groups. Prof. Eva Hummers gave the example that it is much more effective than the flu vaccines usually are.
The AstraZeneca vaccine provides prevention from COVID death by 100 percent. or also serious progression of the disease and reduce the risk of even getting sick at all by around 75 to 80 percent, which is very good.
The effects need to be weighed up against the risk of vaccination. These side-effects are like the rare blood clots combined with the tendency to bleed in young adults and occur in around 10 in every on million vaccinated people.
This means death from COVID-19 in this age group still more likely by around 1 factor of 4 to 10 than adverse reactions from vaccines.
Prof. Hummers argues that the ratio of risk to benefit in the over 60’s age group is much more positive which is why the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) are recommending this vaccine for.
In this case scenario, serious adverse events occur in around 4 out of one million people, whereas 800 in a million people in this age group have died from COVID-19.
Overall, the AstraZeneca vaccine is effective and has a good ratio of risk to benefit in all age groups and the ratio to risk benefit among the over 60’s is especially positive for this vaccine.
READ RELATED ARTICLES: COVID-19, Why you have to stay for observation for 15 minutes after receiving the vaccination?
Can the new mRNA COVID-19 vaccines change your DNA?
COVID-19, why you should get vaccinated even after infection
COVID-19, what reactions can the vaccine cause after injection
Source: DieBundesregierung