Two shots of the Pfizer vaccine is highly effective against the new and rapidly spreading delta variant of COVID-19.
A study of 19,000 people from Public Health England, published Wednesday, found that both doses of either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines offer protection against symptoms from both the alpha and delta variants.
The Pfizer vaccine has a 93.7% effectiveness rate at preventing symptomatic alpha infections, and 88% for the delta variant.
Two doses of AstraZeneca are 74.5% effective at preventing alpha infections, and 67% for the delta variant.
However, the effectiveness of the vaccines takes a significant dive if the patient only receives one dose of either vaccine.
The study found both vaccine brands to be slightly more than 48% effective against the alpha variant and only about 30% effective against the delta variant if only one dose was administered.
Those who conducted the study suggest prioritizing second doses, especially in vulnerable populations, to prevent coronavirus outbreaks effectively.
The death toll from a Russian airstrike on Chernihiv in northern Ukraine has risen to 18, officials said on Thursday, while another 78 were wounded when three missiles slammed into the city centre.
A man-made famine is "tightening its grip" across the Gaza Strip, the head of the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA warned on Wednesday as he accused Israel of blocking aid deliveries and seeking to end UNRWA's activities in the enclave.
Indonesia shut a provincial airport and evacuated hundreds of people from the vicinity of the Ruang volcano after it belched explosive plumes of lava, rocks and ash for days, officials said on Thursday, declaring the highest alert on the situation.
The US House of Representatives will have its long-awaited vote on aid for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific as soon as Saturday, Republican Speaker Mike Johnson said on Wednesday, paving the way for its possible passage despite fierce objections from the right wing of his conference.
Georgia's parliament on Wednesday approved the first reading of a bill on "foreign agents" that the European Union said risked stifling freedoms and blocking the country's path to membership.