Biden: Nursing home workers should be vaccinated • Pollution in Paralympic athletes’ village

Three months after receiving the last vaccine from Pfizer or AstraZeneca, efficacy against the now-prevalent delta variant is significantly reduced. This is the result of a major study conducted by Oxford University. More than three million nasal and throat swabs were examined for the study.

After three months, according to the researchers, AstraZeneca’s vaccine protection drops to 61 percent and Pfizer’s protection to 75 percent. In vaccinated people over 35 years of age, efficacy decreased faster than in young adults, the researchers wrote.

The research also indicates that if vaccinated people become infected with the delta variant, they are likely to transmit the virus just as easily as non-vaccinated people. The researchers found the same number of virus particles in the nose and throat in both groups.

“This could make the group’s immunity even more challenging,” Dutch researcher Koen Boels told ANP news agency. “Vaccines are probably best at preventing severe disease, but are slightly less effective at preventing transmission of the virus.”

The study has not yet appeared in a medical journal. It has not yet been peer reviewed prior to publication.