John Baron MP reassures constituents over vaccines

MP: Vaccines are working well against the coronavirus

Recent studies have shown that the vaccines being used across the UK are working well against the coronavirus, and are helping to save lives and reduce pressure on the NHS. In particular, the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine shows a sustained protection of 76% during the three-month interval before the second dose against the variants currently dominant in the UK. With other variants, even if a vaccine may have reduced efficacy in preventing infection, there may still be good efficacy against severe disease, hospitalisation and death. When necessary, vaccines will be tweaked and updated to combat emerging strains, which should not require the full trials process of last year and therefore be available quickly. As part of this process, last week the Government announced an agreement with CureVac to allow new varieties of vaccines to be developed quickly and to procure 50 million doses of a new version of a vaccine, if required.

John said,

“Constituents should not be overly concerned by the stories circulating last weekend. Our coronavirus vaccines are working well against the strains of the coronavirus currently dominant in the UK, giving strong protection against illness and death. Viruses evolving is a natural process and was expected, which is why scientists worldwide are ready to rise to the challenge of updating vaccines if necessary.”