On Sunday, Israel’s largest healthcare provider said a study conducted on more than half a million fully vaccinated Israelis found the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 94% effective against COVID-19.
The researchers at Clalit Health Services said tested 600,000 subjects who had received the two-dose regimen of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine and the same number of people who had not been inoculated, according to Medical Xpress.
Clalit is the largest of Israel’s four state-mandated health service organizations, charged with administering health care services and funding for its members.
In a Hebrew-language statement, Clalit said, “There was a 94% reduction in the rate of symptomatic infection and a 92% decrease in the rate of serious illness compared to 600,000 similar (subjects) who were not vaccinated.”
“Vaccine efficacy is maintained in all age groups, including those aged 70 plus,” the healthcare service provider added.
According to the nation’s mass vaccination campaign, nearly 4 million people have received the first dose, while over 2 million have also received the second shot.
The nation of more than nine million people, which is now easing lockdown restrictions, aims to vaccinate everyone above the age of 16 by the end of March.
Clalit said, “The publication of preliminary results at this stage is intended to emphasize to the unvaccinated population that the vaccine is highly effective and prevents serious morbidity.”
The healthcare service provider added that the researchers examined people who had received the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at least seven days before being tested.
“With each additional week that passes, we will be able to make the assessment more accurate,” Clalit explained. “Accuracy would improve as subjects are tested after 14 days or more from the second dose.”
Israel has largely been relying on the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, but it has also been holding a small stock of Moderna’s vaccine.
The country secured a lot of Pfizer vaccine supplies after striking a data-sharing deal with the company. The deal stipulates that Israel will share real-time information with Pfizer on the vaccine’s efficacy and impact.
Clalit and other healthcare services in Israel are directly responsible for vaccinating people and collecting data on the vaccine’s impact. The article was published Sunday on Medical Xpress.
