The vaccines of Pfizer / BioNtech and AstraZeneca / Oxford, administered as part of the Scotland vaccine campaign, have reduced the risk of coronovirus-related hospitalization in that nation of the United Kingdom, according to a study published on Monday.

This study, led by the University of Edinburgh, indicated that four weeks after administration of the first dose, the risk of hospitalization was reduced by 85% with the Pfizer vaccine and by 94% with AstraZeneca. Compared to those who were not.

Among more than 80 people, one of the most at-risk groups, the combined preliminary results of the two vaccines showed an 81% reduction in hospitalization.

“These results are very encouraging and give us good reason to be optimistic about the future,” Professor Aziz Sheikh of the University of Edinburgh said in a statement.

“We now have evidence at the national level (…) that vaccination provides protection against hospitals associated with Kovid-19”, he said, accelerating the administration of the first dose in the world to ward off this terrible disease Called upon. “.

Like the rest of the United Kingdom, Scotland began vaccinating its 5.5 million residents in early December and was the central focus of its strategy to get out of lockdown.

During the period examined by the study, between 8 December and 15 February, 1.14 million doses (650,000 of Pfizer and 490,000 of AstraZeneca) were administered, comprising 21% of the population.

In total, more than 17.7 million priority people have already received the first dose in the UK, where authorities have decided to put two required doses of space up to 12 weeks in order to immunize as many people as possible. .

If the results of this study are “extremely promising”, Arne Akbar, president of the British Society for Immunology, emphasized that it is now necessary to understand “how long the protection afforded by a single dose of vaccine lasts”: “Additional Studies are necessary, ”he said, according to observations relayed by the Science Media Center.