AstraZeneca's Vaccine Works in Older Adults, U.K. Says

A U.K. government study by Public Health England determined that AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine was between 60 percent and 73 percent effective in adults aged 70 and older, reports Barron's . "This adds to growing evidence showing that the vaccines are working to reduce infections and save lives," said Public Health England's Mary Ramsay. "While there remains much more data to follow, this is encouraging and we are increasingly confident that vaccines are making a real difference." Public Health England's study used routine testing and vaccination data to calculate the vaccine's effects on COVID-19 cases in older adults. "This study provides the first real-world evidence of COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness against symptomatic COVID-19 in older people in the U.K.," the authors explained. "The effect of a single dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine against symptomatic disease was approximately 60-75 percent and there was again an additional protective effect against hospitalization, though it is too early to assess the effect and mortality."