A study by the Medical University of Innsbruck has shown a more than 90 percent reduction in new infections in a six-month period after the wide-ranging corona vaccination campaign in the Tyrolean district of Schwaz in spring 2021. The EU provided 100,000 vaccine doses at the time.
The Tyrolean district of Schwaz, which at the time was particularly affected by the South African mutation of the coronavirus, became an international research region for Pfizer. 67 percent of the vaccinated population was immunized with the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine in March (first dose) and April (second dose). The scientific support was a condition for the EU to provide 100,000 additional vaccine doses for Tyrol. Since then, the research has been conducted under the direction of the Medical University of Innsbruck.
Study director Peter Willeit emphasized the time aspect on Monday. The study is mainly characterized by the fact that it shows “how the rapid vaccination of a large part of the population affected the frequency of SARS-CoV-2 infections, especially compared to other Tyrolean districts where the vaccinations were rolled out more slowly” , said the professor of epidemiology and public health in a broadcast.There are only comparable studies from Israel, where a comparable vaccination coverage could be achieved over a period of four months, Willeit emphasizes.
Data collected from 12,000 people
The state-funded “REDUCE” study recorded the effectiveness of the vaccination campaign based on data from nearly 12,000 people. The study population was on average 44.6 years old and slightly more than half were female. Between March and September 2021, 71 of the participants became ill with Corona, two-thirds of whom had symptoms. Willeit found it “remarkable” that in the entire study, only one person had to be hospitalized because of the infection, and there was no death related to the infection.
The effectiveness of the special vaccination campaign in terms of reducing the frequency of SARS-CoV-2 infections was 91.1 percent over a six-month period compared to the slower roll-out of vaccinations in other districts – a value that also reflects the reflects results consistent with vaccine approval studies.
Significant reduction in risk of infection
“From this result it can be concluded that without the special vaccination campaign there would probably have been more than ten times as many infections among the participants in the study,” explains Willeit. Extrapolated to the total population of the Schwaz district, the special vaccination campaign for the same period resulted in an equally significant reduction in infection risk by 64 percent.
42,000 citizens accepted the offer
The vaccination campaign in the Schwaz district started in mid-March 2021 after a fierce political tug-of-war. Two-thirds of the eligible population — a total of more than 42,000 people — had received the first vaccine dose within six days. About 99.5 percent of those vaccinated for the first time then had the second vaccination within the recommended time interval.
The state supported the implementation of the “REDUCE” study with 250,000 euros. Scientific findings were published in the “Cell-Journal iScience”. A follow-up study is underway, which will also take booster vaccinations into account.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
