Vaccines cutting covid19 numbers worldwide
Tuesday 23 February 2021
Panellists of the UWI’s covid19 vaccination Q&A session. L-R: Professor Clive Landis, Professor Christine Carrington, and Dr Peter Figueroa. - Screengrab of UWITV broadcast
Epidemiologist Dr Peter Figueroa, chair of the PAHO Regional Immunization Technical Advisory Group said since the rollout of the covid19 vaccine, there has been a 40 per cent decrease in the number of cases, a 30 per cent reduction in hospitalisation due to the virus and a 16 per cent reduction in covid19-related deaths.
He made the statement during UWI’s covid19 vaccination question-and-answer session on Monday.
He said all three vaccines currently in widest circulation – Pfizer, Moderna, and AstraZeneca – were safe for use. While there was a risk of anaphylaxis (shock due to an extreme allergic reaction) with the Pfizer (four in every million vaccinations) and Moderna (two in every million vaccinations), no such effects had been seen with the AstraZeneca drug.