Over 90% of Japanese Fully Vaccinated with Pfizer Vaccine Also Acquire Antibodies Against COVID-19 Variants

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] An analysis has shown that more than 90% of Japanese people who received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine developed antibody levels capable of preventing infection not only from the original COVID-19 but also from its variants.

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun on the 12th, a research team from Yokohama City University analyzed the blood of 105 doctors and nurses aged 24 to 62 from its affiliated hospital who received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine between March and April.

The analysis focused on blood samples taken two weeks after the first dose and one week after the second dose. For COVID-19, the proportion of vaccinated individuals with antibody levels sufficient to prevent infection was 57% after the first dose and 99% after the second dose.

Regarding COVID-19 variants, the proportion of people with antibodies sufficient to prevent infection increased from 18% to 94% for the UK variant, from 21% to 90% for the South Africa variant, and from 37% to 97% for the India variant.

Takeharu Yamanaka, a professor of clinical statistics at Yokohama City University, stated, "If properly vaccinated twice, we can expect the vaccine to be sufficiently effective against COVID-19 variants."

Mitsuyoshi Urashima, a professor of preventive medicine at Tokyo Jikeikai Medical University, said, "These results show that the currently used vaccines are effective against variant viruses," but added, "Since the duration of vaccine effectiveness is unclear and there is a possibility that new COVID-19 variants may reduce effectiveness, careful monitoring is necessary."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.