‘Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine behind lower Covid-19 deaths in UK’

Britainrsquos early deployment of the OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine to protect against COVID19 may be responsible for the countryrsquos lower death rates compared to other European countries a UK vaccines expert has saidDr Clive Dix former chairman of the UKrsquos Vaccine Task Force told the lsquoDaily Telegraphrsquo that the OxfordAstraZeneca vaccine ndash manufactured and administered in India as Covishield ndash may offer stronger longterm protection against severe COVID19 and deathldquoIf you look across Europe with the rise in cases therersquos also a corresponding lagged rise in deaths but not in the UK and we have to understand thatrdquo said Dr Dix ldquoI personally believe thatrsquos because most of our vulnerable people were given the AstraZeneca vaccinerdquo he saidAccording to Our World in Data a website run by the University of Oxford the UK has 17 daily deaths from COVID per million people In comparison the European Union EU as a whole has almost fourThe key Dix believes is that although the RNA jabs such as PfizerBioNTech produce a more obvious and rapid jump in antibody levels in lab tests other vaccines may be better at priming another part of the immune system called cellular immunity This includes various forms of T cells including those that destroy infected cells and also memory cells ensuring a person can fight off an infection several years after they are first exposed to it They are slower to react than antibodies and do not prevent infection but halt the pathogen in its tracks making it harder for the virus to cause damageldquoWersquove seen early data that the Oxford jab produces a very durable cellular response and if yoursquove got a durable cellular immunity response then they can last for a long time It can last for life in some casesrdquo Dix told the newspaper The only notable difference according to him between UK and Europersquos vaccine rollout was the approach to the OxfordAstraZeneca jab European regulators approved use of the vaccine long after the UK rolled it out among its older age groups at the end of last yearNew York sees fourfold rise in pediatric hospitalisationsAmid the rapid spread of the Omicron variant in the US New York City has seen a fourfold rise in children being hospitalised for COVID19 since early December The New York State Health Department said the increase was observed in children aged 18 and under beginning the week of December 5 through the current week ABC News reportedAustraliarsquos most populous state reports 1st omicron deathAustraliarsquos New South Wales state reported more than 6000 new COVID19 cases on Monday and confirmed its first death from the omicron variant The fatal case was identified as a man in his 80s who was infected at an aged care facility in western Sydney He was fully vaccinated but had health conditionsFlight to Shanghai turned backDelta Air Lines said Monday that new pandemicrelated cleaning requirements at a Shanghai airport were why a recent flight was turned back from Seattle in midair A statement said the mandates at Shanghai Pudong International Airport ldquorequire significantly extended ground time and are not operationally viable for DeltardquoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever