London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

‘Don’t drop your guard,’ UK experts warn, as study highlights pre-immunity window after receiving Covid-19 vaccine

‘Don’t drop your guard,’ UK experts warn, as study highlights pre-immunity window after receiving Covid-19 vaccine

A small number of hospitalised Covid-19 patients in the UK died from the virus weeks after vaccination, researchers have said, warning the public not to throw caution to the wind after getting the jab in case they become infected.
Scientists behind the research said on Friday that there was evidence of rare instances of inoculated people still developing severe Covid-19 symptoms.

Most of the small number of people in this situation were likely infected soon after they received the first dose of the vaccine, before the body had time to fully develop immunizing antibodies against the virus, the researchers said.

The study, published in a preprint journal on Friday without being peer-reviewed, used data from 52,000 hospitalised Covid-19 patients.

The cohort included 526 patients who had received a first dose of a vaccine made by AstraZeneca or Pfizer in the previous three weeks. Out of this group 113 people died, most of whom were elderly or clinically vulnerable.

The study’s co-author, Professor Calum Semple of the University of Liverpool, presented the findings on Friday, saying: “We’re not saying the vaccine doesn’t work. In fact, this is good real-world evidence of it working. But it also shows that the vaccine isn’t perfect.”

He said the cases of people being infected so soon after getting their jabs indicate that “people are letting their guard down because they’ve been vaccinated.”

On Friday, another UK study also suggested that vaccination alone does not determine a person’s resistance to Covid-19, and that although jabs do offer protection, they may not give full coverage against infection.

The research, published in the journal Science, found that people previously infected with Covid-19 who were injected with a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine showed a stronger immune response against virus variants.

Those who previously had mild or asymptomatic infection had “significantly enhanced protection” against the UK and South Africa variants, according to researchers from Imperial College London, Queen Mary University of London, and University College London.

In people without prior infection, the immune response was “less strong” after a first dose, potentially leaving them more susceptible to variants.

One of the study’s co-authors, Professor Rosemary Boyton of Imperial College, said the data showed that “natural infection alone” may not provide sufficient immunity against variants.

“People who have had their first dose of vaccine, and who have not previously been infected with SARS-CoV-2, are not fully protected against the circulating variants of concern,” she said in a statement.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×