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Coronavirus

Does the Astra Zeneca vaccine work?

(203 Posts)
nanna8 Fri 02-Jul-21 09:32:32

I am asking this because there is a lot of resistance to it here and many say it just doesn’t work. I am sure they do not know this but have just heard rumours. I figured in the uk people might know as they are way ahead of us in vaccine rates.
I have had two doses myself as have many of my friends and acquaintances so I really hope we haven’t wasted our time.

Kalu Sun 04-Jul-21 12:37:14

CHO of QLD, Jeanette Young has had her first dose of AZ!!

maddieb Sun 04-Jul-21 12:38:10

Yes I think it works, the hospital admissions are way down here in Scotland and everyone I know has had the AZ one. There are rising cases of the Delta variants here and the hospitals are OK.

MaggsMcG Sun 04-Jul-21 12:43:50

Some, not all, of the EU knee jerk reaction was sour grapes because of Brexit. They aredoing everything they can to make things hard for UK. Yes there were some concerns but they have mostly been alliviated. Except of course for the conspiracy theory nutters.

Kestrel Sun 04-Jul-21 12:51:51

yes

Kalu Sun 04-Jul-21 12:53:46

Sorry. My post was to nanna8

Alis52 Sun 04-Jul-21 12:54:48

Of course it works. You just have to look at the downward rate of infections and fewer hospitalisations for those who still catch covid.

MaggsMcG Sun 04-Jul-21 12:54:54

grandtanteJE65
Theres new evidence that the way the vaccine is given can reduce that VERY small risk. There's a much larger risk of getting a blood clot if you catch covid.

Gabrielle56 Sun 04-Jul-21 13:02:02

YES!!!!.....next question?
Is pigs bum pork?....just as daft a question....but with the very same answer....spooky....

Cold Sun 04-Jul-21 13:06:53

The first article I saw was in Swedish based on an interview with the Swedish Public Agency
www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/0K5qm6/sa-sakra-ar-de-olika-vaccinen

Then I did some searching and found a much longer explanation from the Yale medical practice
www.yalemedicine.org/news/covid-19-vaccine-comparison

Which is exemplified in these 2 graphs firstly from statistics site Statista (that quotes the Lancet as one of its sources) and secondly from the APF news agency

It seems that different methodologies have been used to test Astra Zeneca with wildly differing results (60-90% range). The Astra Zeneca data is also more difficult to interpret because it different use patterns - for example - in the UK it is given to everyone whereas in many European countries it is not licenced for people under 65 because of the blood clotting issue.

Gabrielle56 Sun 04-Jul-21 13:10:59

You're dead right! EU are jealous as hell of us , always have been! They hamstrung us while we were in the rotten market and now they've no control? Well! It's driving them nuts (tee hee , good) were exceptionally good at, well anything we turn our hands to, we beat all comers and even at their own game (British sparkling wine doesn't need to hide behind a grotty overrated has been monicker) it's a pity successive govs. Have viewed our assets as family silver to be flogged off to finance HS2/grants to the ballet/tax breaks for the poor rich/any useless expensive scheme going.(but nothing to actually help folks improve their lives) our AZ vaccine success is the envy of the world and dont it just 'needle' them!!?

Gabrielle56 Sun 04-Jul-21 13:12:47

How it's given? You mean rub it in rather than inject it?....or maybe in eye drops?

Silvertwigs Sun 04-Jul-21 13:19:56

There are many private companies offering this antibody test, costs between £25 and £50. Go online and order a test kit.

Gabrielle56 Sun 04-Jul-21 13:21:55

I cannot believe the hysteria surrounding these vaccines! One of my sons is embroiled in rubbish about clots etc and has refused to be vaccd which is causing me great concern.if he catches covid ipray he'll be one of the lucky mild symptom bods ,but who knows???? Nobody! Look at brave Derek draper!! Who would guess?? Nobody ever asked about which vax? Or how can you test my antibodies with polio/diptheria/smallpox/malaria/all the myriad super vaccines we willingly take to survive!!!! Hells teeth most of the people that are hysterical about the science being "wrong" wouldnt pass O level biology chemistry or physics let alone have the chutzpah to study years so they can speak with authority. The damned internet has a COLOSSAL lot tanswer for!!!

MayBee70 Sun 04-Jul-21 13:22:03

MaggsMcG

grandtanteJE65
Theres new evidence that the way the vaccine is given can reduce that VERY small risk. There's a much larger risk of getting a blood clot if you catch covid.

Do you mean aspirating the needle which is what they do in China? And also how most vaccines are done but, for some reason not the covid one.

georgia101 Sun 04-Jul-21 13:23:06

It definitely works. Don't be put off by political hype. I and several of my family have had the AZ jab and no real side effects than you would normally expect from any vaccination, and none of us have caught Covid either.

Missiseff Sun 04-Jul-21 13:33:10

Is that a serious question?

Gabrielle56 Sun 04-Jul-21 13:33:12

Why woul knowing your antibodies count help anything? Would you understand what the results actually meant? I trust medics , as much as I trust sales people to sell , engineers to....engineer, and nurses to nurse. I would NOT trust a nurse to fix my car , or an engineer to remove my appendix! Horses for courses.trust those who actually know, not those who are good at moaning about stuff they don't comprehend or have the sense to research properly and get well informed of the actual facts!

Gabrielle56 Sun 04-Jul-21 13:36:56

It also said "in the papers " that Hitler and Elvis are alive and living on the moon.resting my case here.

ayse Sun 04-Jul-21 13:41:26

Gabrielle56

I cannot believe the hysteria surrounding these vaccines! One of my sons is embroiled in rubbish about clots etc and has refused to be vaccd which is causing me great concern.if he catches covid ipray he'll be one of the lucky mild symptom bods ,but who knows???? Nobody! Look at brave Derek draper!! Who would guess?? Nobody ever asked about which vax? Or how can you test my antibodies with polio/diptheria/smallpox/malaria/all the myriad super vaccines we willingly take to survive!!!! Hells teeth most of the people that are hysterical about the science being "wrong" wouldnt pass O level biology chemistry or physics let alone have the chutzpah to study years so they can speak with authority. The damned internet has a COLOSSAL lot tanswer for!!!

DD2 is also a vaccine decliner and all the other things that go along with it. She has now got full blown Covid. She has a shocking cough and I’m fearful for her as she is also asthmatic. She looks shocking. I’m hoping she will improve soon.

I understand her reservations about giving any of these vaccines to the children because they are still experimental and will be until 2023.

I’m so concerned but there is nothing I can do. The children have all been exposed to Covid and two of them seem to have been a symptomatic, the oldest just feeling unwell for a day.

M0ira Sun 04-Jul-21 13:50:18

Yes it works!
Had both AZ jabs and been tested for antibodies after 5 months. Antibodies are still there.

flowerlady Sun 04-Jul-21 13:50:18

I too have had the antibody test; taken two weeks after my second AZ jab. I have no antibodies according to their little test strip.
However, I feel strongly that I have done the right thing by society as a whole, even though it does not appear to have protected me.

Cold Sun 04-Jul-21 13:51:31

Gabrielle56

You're dead right! EU are jealous as hell of us , always have been! They hamstrung us while we were in the rotten market and now they've no control? Well! It's driving them nuts (tee hee , good) were exceptionally good at, well anything we turn our hands to, we beat all comers and even at their own game (British sparkling wine doesn't need to hide behind a grotty overrated has been monicker) it's a pity successive govs. Have viewed our assets as family silver to be flogged off to finance HS2/grants to the ballet/tax breaks for the poor rich/any useless expensive scheme going.(but nothing to actually help folks improve their lives) our AZ vaccine success is the envy of the world and dont it just 'needle' them!!?

Don't talk rubbish - I don't think anyone in the EU country where I live is jealous of Britain - on the contrary we feel very sorry for people in Britain having been locked down for months with no family visits and no school etc whereas we have suffered none of this

PLUS where I live we have caught Britain up in vaccinating its population (everyone 18+ can book). We have done some things differently - for example - healthcare staff were prioritized to slow the spread of Covid in hospitals which means that my 65 year old husband and 25 year old daughter were fully vaccinated only a day apart.

I don't know why people want to make such a nationalistic issue of a pandemic. Last time I looked Astra Zeneca was a British-Swedish company and Sweden is in the EU

Alegrias1 Sun 04-Jul-21 14:02:25

Cold

The first article I saw was in Swedish based on an interview with the Swedish Public Agency
www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/0K5qm6/sa-sakra-ar-de-olika-vaccinen

Then I did some searching and found a much longer explanation from the Yale medical practice
www.yalemedicine.org/news/covid-19-vaccine-comparison

Which is exemplified in these 2 graphs firstly from statistics site Statista (that quotes the Lancet as one of its sources) and secondly from the APF news agency

It seems that different methodologies have been used to test Astra Zeneca with wildly differing results (60-90% range). The Astra Zeneca data is also more difficult to interpret because it different use patterns - for example - in the UK it is given to everyone whereas in many European countries it is not licenced for people under 65 because of the blood clotting issue.

Thanks for the data Cold.

I think we also need to be explicit when we talk about "effectiveness". The Yale article itself says that the AZ vaccine is 70% effective at preventing symptomatic disease and 100% effective at preventing severe disease. But that data is from March and will no doubt have been superseded. The latest (non peer reviewed) data says that it is 60% effective against symptomatic infection with Delta and 93% against hospitalisation.

So, for me, the 70% figure is true but not a good indication of what the vaccine is actually doing. We had readily available supplies of the AZ vaccine for the UK that give excellent protection from this disease and so we used it. Given the choice would I have had Pfizer? Probably. Would I have delayed getting the AZ to wait for Pfizer or Moderna? Not a chance in hell.

The AZ vaccine is doing its job at preventing infection and severe illness and there are so many variables in the equation I’ll take what I’m given. smile

Marjgran Sun 04-Jul-21 14:46:51

“Work” will be researched for years. There are antibodies to research and T cells. The gap between vaccines matters - it seems a very long gap increases the efficacy of AZ. I wanted AZ (previous history of anaphylaxis) but was given Pfizer. I am thrilled to be double vaxxed. My adult children were given AZ, except pregnant daughter, who had Pfizer, purely because the research ti date on pregnant women has been on Pfizer. AZ produced at cost and open source, is that why the conspiracies have been fanned? I loved the standing ovation the Oxford researcher got when spotted in the audience of the centre court at Wimbledon. Good on her. Yes, OP, the vaccine “works”. The only waste of time is that of all the folk spreading false science and the stalwarts fighting back.

Lilyflower Sun 04-Jul-21 15:09:24

Yes it works.