Is the AZ Vaccine Effective? “It cannot be evaluated with neutralizing antibodies alone”

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November 23, 2021
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◀ anchor ▶

The government analyzed 46 million people who have been vaccinated and emphasized once again how effective the vaccine is.

The government explained that it would not be so judged by some who doubted the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Next is reporter Park Jin-joo.

◀ Report ▶

A hospital in Gangseo-gu, Seoul.

After the interval between booster immunizations for those aged 60 years and over and workers in medical institutions was shortened to 4 months, the number of booster immunizations per day more than doubled to 130.

[박영주/서울 부민병원 간호팀장]

“AstraZeneca said that it is most vulnerable to breakthrough infection, so we have to get it right quickly. Also, the country pushed the date earlier.”

Recently, as the number of breakthrough infections among people over the age of 60 has increased significantly, some media are arguing that this is because the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca vaccine they received is significantly less effective than other vaccines.

The basis for this is the result of a recent study by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention comparing the neutralizing antibody titers of each vaccine after completion of inoculation.

As the neutralizing antibody titer of the AstraZeneca vaccine was 392, about one-fifth of Pfizer and one-seventh that of Moderna, it is argued that the preventive effect is that low.

However, the government emphasized that the vaccine’s preventive effect cannot be judged by neutralizing antibodies alone.

There is no adequate standard to determine the amount of neutralizing antibody required to have a preventive effect.

[정은경/질병관리청장]

“If the amount of neutralizing antibody is a little high, it may be beneficial for disease prevention, but it is also difficult to clearly interpret such a standard for whether it should be above a certain level and have a preventive effect.”

In addition, he explained that the vaccine not only strengthens neutralizing antibodies but also cellular immunity, and the AstraZeneca vaccine induces cellular immunity well.

Cellular immunity is known to play an important role in preventing the progression to severe or death after infection.

With the vaccination completion rate approaching 80%, the effectiveness of the vaccine was confirmed once again.

A government analysis of 46 million vaccinated people found that those who were not vaccinated had a 2.3 times higher risk of contracting the virus than those who were vaccinated, a four times higher risk of death if confirmed, and an 11 times higher risk of developing serious illness. .

Even after completing the vaccination, the number of cases in which the breakthrough infection worsened to a serious condition was only one-fifth of that of the unvaccinated person.

This is Park Jin-joo from MBC News.