This is why you need that second COVID-19 vaccine dose, says WHO’s Chief Scientist

This is why you need that second COVID-19 vaccine dose, says WHO’s Chief Scientist

More than 150 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered around the world to date.

Hospitalization rates in the UK have dropped by 94% after just one dose, according to latest data.

But getting the second dose cements the immunity, argues the World Health Organization's Chief Scientist, Dr Soumya Swaminathan.

A 12-week gap between some doses has pushed protection rates up to 82%.



Hospital admissions have been dramatically reduced by just one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, public health officials in Scotland have said. Measuring the impact of 1.14 million doses administered between 8 December and 15 February, vaccines from Pfizer and AstraZeneca led to an 85% and 94% drop in hospitalization, respectively.

Most available vaccines, and those in development, require patients to receive two doses. In the latest of its "Science in 5" video series, the World Health Organization's (WHO) Chief Scientist, Dr Soumya Swaminathan, explained why getting that second shot is important, as well as how much time should elapse between the doses.



"The interval between the doses depends on which vaccine you're getting and the local authorities, the government, would have made a guideline and would inform you about when the second dose is due,“ Dr