People were told to work from home unless it’s impossible to do so, and leave home only for essential trips. As of Monday, there were 26,626 COVID-19 patients in hospitals in England, an increase of more than 30% from a week ago. Britain has secured the rights to 100 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which is cheaper and easier to use than some of its rivals. Brian Pinker, an 82-year-old dialysis patient, received the first Oxford-AstraZeneca shot early Monday at Oxford University Hospital. While two doses are required to fully protect against COVID-19, both vaccines provide high levels of protection after the first dose, the committee said.

After a Phase 3 trial, officials said a vaccine from Oxford University and Astrazeneca pharmaceutical company is up to 90% effective. The results were based on trials in the United Kingdom and Brazil before the trials start in the United States. When the vaccine was given as a half dose followed by a full dose at least a month later, it was 90% effective. READ: FDA grants emergency use authorization for Regeneron’s COVID-19 antibody cocktailKaul said the University of Michigan has been enrolling patients in the trial for several weeks now. “While there’s a lot of controversy around vaccines, there really isn’t any controversy around vaccines in the medical community.