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By Agustin Geist
BUENOS AIRES, June 25 (Reuters) - A single dose of Russia's
Sputnik V or the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine
reduces mortality from COVID-19 by between 70% and 80% in people
aged 60-plus, real-world data from Argentina's national
inoculation program show.
The preliminary study data, released on Friday by the
country's health ministry, involved some 450,000 people aged 60
years of age and above who received one or two doses of either
vaccine, which are the most widely used in Argentina.
"The first dose generates almost 80% immunity, the second,
in general, increases that response and makes it more durable
over time," Health Minister Carla Vizzotti said in a statement,
adding with a second dose mortality decreased around 90%.
Argentina's inoculation campaign has been built around the
Sputnik V and AstraZeneca vaccines, as well as using Sinopharm
and CoviShield shots. The country has vaccinated over 19 million
people, of which 3.8 million have received two doses.
This week the country passed 90,000 deaths from COVID-19 as
it tries to leave behind a painful second wave of the virus. It
currently has one of the highest average daily death tolls in
the world, behind only Brazil, India and Colombia.
Vizzotti said that the data supported the country's
immunization strategy of having a 12-week gap between the first
and second shot, saying this was done in order to cover as much
of the population at risk as possible with a single dose.
"It was an appropriate decision and the results of this
study confirm that high protection has been achieved in the
vaccinated population," she said.
(Reporting by Agustin Geist; Editing by Nicolas Misculin, Adam
Jourdan and David Evans)
