More than 96% of people develop antibodies to Covid after just one dose of the AstraZeneca or Pfizer jab, research shows.

A study over over 8,000 participants in England and Wales also found almost 100% develop the immune cells needed to fight off the virus after two vaccines.

The findings have been hailed as ‘remarkable’ and a ‘real feat of science’.

The research found that 96.42% of people who had either vaccine had developed antibodies 28 to 34 days after their first dose. That rose to 99.08% within seven to 14 days of the second jab, according to the Guardian.

‘This is one of the earliest real-world vaccine studies in the UK and it is fantastic news’, said Dr Maddie Shrotri, the lead author of the paper containing the findings.

‘Over nine out of 10 adults in the UK who had either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine produced antibodies against the virus within a month of their first shot.

‘How well these vaccines work is remarkable, especially given the speed at which they’ve been developed. It’s a real feat of science in the face of the most devastating pandemic in a century.’

The study by UCL is the latest evidence showing the two main jabs being rolled out to the British public are proving highly effective.

The paper is undergoing peer review before appearing in a medical journal.

But it comes as welcome news amid concern about the spread of the Indian variant, which is threatening to derail the final phase in the roadmap out of lockdown.

Scientists found both vaccines were equally good at triggering the antibodies needed to fight off Covid-19.

Antibody levels after one jab were lower in older people and those with some underlying health conditions, including cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

However, that difference disappeared once all participants had their second vaccine.

Prof Rob Aldridge, the chief investigator of the UCL Virus Watch study, said this was ‘a timely reminder about the importance of getting the second dose of the vaccine’.

He added: ‘But it is also reassuring – vaccines are our way out of the pandemic.’

More than 20 million Britons have now had two doses of either the Pfizer, Astrazeneca or Moderna vaccine, which started being used in early April.

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