BUENOS AIRES, June 26 ― A single dose of Russia's Sputnik V or the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine reduces mortality from Covid-19 by between 70 per cent and 80 per cent in people aged 60-plus, real-world data from Argentina's national inoculation programme show.
“The first dose generates almost 80 per cent immunity, the second, in general, increases that response and makes it more durable over time,” Health Minister Carla Vizzotti said in a statement, adding with a second dose mortality decreased around 90 per cent. This week the country passed 90,000 deaths from Covid-19 as it tries to leave behind a painful second wave of the virus. It currently has one of the highest average daily death tolls in the world, behind only Brazil, India and Colombia.