Sharjah24 – AFP: The Pfizer and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines have been "highly effective" in reducing coronavirus infections and severe illness among elderly people in Britain, with a more than 80 percent reduction in hospitalisation, official data showed Monday.

In the over 80s, a single dose of either vaccine is more than 80 percent effective at preventing hospitalisation around three to four weeks after the jab, according to a Public Health England real-world study that has gathered data since January.

The study comes as France and Germany consider reversing their refusal to authorise the AstraZeneca vaccine for people over 65 due to concerns of its efficacy.

Both vaccines "are highly effective in reducing COVID-19 infections among older people aged 70 years and over," added the study.

The Pfizer jab has offered protection against catching the disease of between 57 and 61 percent after the first dose, with the AstraZeneca vaccine offering protection of between 60 and 73 percent, according to the study.

Britain has given the first dose of one of the two vaccines to more than 20 million people as part of a mass rollout that is seen as vital in taming one of the world's worst outbreaks, which has so far claimed almost 123,000 lives.

Asked about the scepticism in some European countries about the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca vaccine, Jonathan Van-Tam, deputy chief medical officer for England, said the results "vindicated" Britain's approach.