AstraZeneca and Oxford University's Covid-19 vaccine has similar efficacy against the “Kent” coronavirus variant currently circulating in Britain as it does to the previously circulating variants, the university said.

The findings, released in a preprint paper and not peer-reviewed, also detailed recent analysis showing that vaccination with the shot results in a reduction in the duration of shedding and viral load, which may translate into a reduced transmission of the disease, Oxford University said.