Pfizer and Moderna vaccines reduce risk of covid infection by 90% after second dose

Pfizer and Moderna vials DADO RUVIC / Reuters

The vaccines developed by the Pfizer and Moderna laboratories are "highly effective" in reducing the spread of coronavirus, in addition to preventing the disease, with an efficacy of 90% once the two doses that make up both vaccines have been administered, according to a study published this Monday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States (CDC, acronym in English).

To speed up the vaccination process, the White House has announced that by April 19, 90% of adults in the United States will be eligible to be vaccinated within a five-mile radius of their home.

The president of the United States appeared on Monday to ask the nation not to "lower its guard", since the work against covid-19 "is far from over."

"Since I got to the White House, the cases decreased by two-thirds, but they are rising again," explained the Democratic president, who asked citizens to use the mask in order to "return to normal."

Only with the first dose of a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine - which requires two inoculations - is 80% effective in preventing infections.

The data is based on two weeks of observations of 4,000 health workers who received their first dose between December 14 and March 13.

"I am very happy to be able to share the information about this new study led by the CDC, which evaluates the effectiveness of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in preventing infections," announced the director of the different state centers for Control and Prevention. of Diseases, Rochelle Wallensky, in a press conference.

"The study is very encouraging," stressed Wallensky, who insisted on the importance of citizens injecting both doses in order to achieve the highest level of protection against covid-19, "especially when our concern about new variants" of the virus increases. .

For the director of the CDC, in a very moving address, the figures produced by the new study are encouraging, just when it could be on the verge of a new "imminent wave of fatality" in the United States similar to the one that Europe has experienced, with the increase in cases that has led to new restrictions in the countries.

According to the Johns Hopkins University count, in the US there are more than 30 million infected by covid-19 and more than 549,000 people have died.

The CDC study coincides with the acceleration of the vaccination process in the United States, with more than three million doses administered daily.

Until last Sunday, 93 million people had received at least one dose of some of the vaccines authorized in the country and some 51 million people were already fully immunized (the US population is just over 330 million).

On March 11, one year after the pandemic was declared, the president of the United States called on States to consider all adults as candidates for vaccination no later than May 1, a sign of that he was confident that there would be enough doses by then.

Biden's goal was symbolic and even patriotic, as the president wished for a return to relative normality by July 4, the nation's Independence Day.

Last week, the White House set a new vaccination goal, which was double the one set when the Democrats came to power on January 20.

Biden pledged last Thursday to administer 200 million doses of vaccines in his first 100 days of presidency (which will be completed at the end of April).