CMO: Vaccines 'saving lives' in NI

The AstraZeneca vaccine is effective against the strains of coronavirus dominant in Northern Ireland, the chief medical officer said.

People should have a high level of confidence that it is protecting people from Covid-19 and saving lives, Dr Michael McBride added.

A study of around 2,000 people has shown the jab only offers minimal protection against mild disease of the South Africa variant and, due to the young age of participants, could not conclude whether the jab worked against severe disease.

Dr McBride said: "The AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines are protecting people from Covid-19 - and saving lives.

"They have been independently and expertly assessed as effective against the strains of the virus that are dominant in Northern Ireland and elsewhere on these islands.

"They have been approved for the entire adult population.''

He acknowledged a "small-scale'' study that suggests the AstraZeneca vaccine may not be as effective against mild disease from the South Africa variant of the virus.

The senior doctor added: "Clearly, more studies will be required on the full efficacy of vaccines against all variants. But I wish to assure people here on two important fronts.

"Firstly, the South Africa variant is not dominant in the UK - indeed there have been no confirmed cases of it at all in Northern Ireland at this time.

"Secondly, while protection against mild disease is obviously desirable, the most important objective is protection against serious illness, hospitalisation and death.

"Any vaccine that achieves that is a successful vaccine.''

He said they must take the emergence of new variants seriously.

"We can all play our part in doing that - by taking those steps that prevent the virus in any form spreading.

"The emergence of new variants in recent months underlines once again the need for maximum vigilance.

"The rollout of the AstraZeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines is hugely important. It gives real hope that we will get through this pandemic.''