Single dose of Pfizer vaccine ‘can reduce asymptomatic infection by four-fold’

The study, which is awaiting peer review, analysed results from thousands of Covid-19 tests carried out weekly on hospital staff displaying no coronavirus symptoms 

The BioNTech/Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine being prepared. Picture: Nick Potts/PA

A single jab of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine can reduce by four-fold the number of asymptomatic coronavirus infections, a new study has indicated.

The new data, from Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, suggests the “dramatic reduction” in positive tests among asymptomatic healthcare workers who had received one dose of the vaccine can make “hospitals even safer places to be”.