PARIS, Oct 11, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - Vaccination is highly effective at
preventing severe cases of Covid-19, even against the Delta variant, a vast
study in France has shown.

     The research published Monday -- focusing on prevention of severe Covid
and death, not infection -- looked at 22 million people over 50 and found
those who had received jabs were 90 percent less likely to be hospitalised or
die.

     The results confirm observations from the US, the UK and Israel, but
researchers say it is the largest study of its kind so far.

     Looking at data collected starting in December 2020, when France
launched its jab campaign, the researchers compared the outcomes of 11
million vaccinated people with 11 million unvaccinated subjects.

     They formed pairs matching an unvaccinated individual with a vaccinated
counterpart from the same region and of the same age and sex, tracking them
from the date of the vaccinated person's second jab to July 20.

     Starting 14 days after a second dose, a vaccinated subjects' risk of
severe Covid was reduced by 90 percent, according to the research conducted
by Epi-Phare, an independent medicines safety research group that works
closes with the French government.

     Vaccination appears to be nearly as effective against for the Delta
variant, with 84 percent protection for people 75 and older and 92 percent
for people 50-75.

     That estimate, however, is only based on a month of data, since the
variant became dominant in France only in June.

     "The study should be followed up to include results from August and
September," epidemiologist Mahmoud Zureik, the head of Epi-Phare, told AFP.

     The study covers vaccination with the Pfizer/BioNtech, Moderna and
AstraZeneca jabs, but not Jannsen which was authorised much later and is far
less widely used in France.

     The results also suggest that over the period of study -- up to five
months -- vaccination protection against severe Covid did not diminish.