A single dose of Covid vaccine stops 62 per cent of infections in care home residents, according to initial research findings.
The Vivaldi study led by researchers from University College London also found care home residents in England who were infected after having the vaccine may also be less likely to transmit the virus.
Data from 10,412 elderly care home residents - with an average age of 86 - from 310 homes between December and mid-March showed Covid infections fell by 62 per cent from five weeks after they received their first dose of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine.
The study - a collaboration between researchers from UCL and the University of Birmingham and healthcare providers including Four Seasons Healthcare, Friends Of The Elderly, HC-One and The Orders of St John Care Trust – also found the risk of infection was 56 per cent lower from four weeks after a single dose.
Researchers said the “substantial protection” lasted until at least seven weeks after vaccination.
“Our findings show that a single dose has a protective effect that persists from four weeks to at least seven weeks after vaccination,” added Laura Shallcross of UCL’s Institute of Health Informatics.
“Analysis of lab samples suggests that care home residents who are infected after having the vaccine may also be less likely to transmit the virus.”
