The UK has been the first country in the western world to roll out a mass COVID-19 vaccination program. New data from the country suggest that the vaccines yield a high level of protection against infection and illness following a single dose. 

Early findings in healthcare workers indicate that a single dose of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine decreases the risk of infection by over 70% while the risk is reduced by 85% after the second dose, states Public Health England. Reports also suggest that the Pfizer vaccine protected the vast majority of vaccine recipients in Israel from getting infected. Initial data also suggest that people who received a dose of the Pfizer vaccine had hospitalizations and deaths related to COVID-19 reduced by over 75%... (ET Healthworld – Bloomberg, February 23, 2021)