LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday that he was confident that both the AstraZeneca and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines helped prevent death and grave illness, and that medicine was slowly gaining the upper hand over the novel coronavirus. “We think that both the vaccines that we’re currently using are effective in, as I say, in stopping serious disease and death,” Johnson told reporters. “We also think in particular in the case of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine that there’s good evidence that it is stopping transmission, as well, I think 67% reduction in transmission.” “They remain a massive benefit to our country and the population,” he said when asked about AstraZeneca’s vaccine. “I’ve no doubt that vaccines generally are going to offer a way out. And with every day that goes by, you can see that medicine is slowly getting the upper hand over the disease.”