The United Kingdom is preparing to give an additional booster to anti-Covid vaccines. This third dose will be given to those most at risk from this fall. But this time, the British-Swedish vaccine AstraZeneca, which has been at the center of various controversies over its effectiveness since the vaccine campaign began in Europe, will not be given the privilege.

The United Kingdom defended the AstraZeneca vaccine until the end, but for additional boosters in the fall, Pfizer will be the preferred option. From September, a second booster of the vaccine will be offered to people over 50, vulnerable Britons and healthcare workers. Facing the delta version, the United Kingdom has recognized the limitations of the vaccine from Oxford Laboratories, and Pfizer will also be given priority for those who have already received two doses of AstraZeneca.

“AstraZeneca is less effective at preventing infection”

“AstraZeneca is very good at limiting the risk of serious disease, at a level of effectiveness similar to messenger RNA vaccines, but AstraZeneca is less effective at preventing infection than these other vaccines”, explains Europe1 Paul Hunter, University Epidemiologist in East Anglia.

The United Kingdom recommended an alternative to AstraZeneca for people under the age of 40, but far behind other European countries. According to Public Health England, however, the vaccines would have prevented around 60,000 deaths linked to COVID-19 in England.