- A study that included 1.2 million people in Israel, half of whom were fully vaccinated with the drug Pfizer / BioNTech, shows that the vaccine is highly effective in preventing severe COVID-19.
- The researchers also found that the vaccine offers excellent protection against severe COVID-19, hospitalization and death – even after just one dose.
- The study was conducted during the initial vaccination phase in Israel, during which the B.1.1.7 mutation became dominant in the country.
Candidate vaccines against coronavirus have been in use for more than two months in various regions of the world, including North America, the European Union and Israel. More than 227.6 million people received at least one dose of the vaccine on Friday morning, and more than 46 million received the full two-dose regimen. Of all the countries that started vaccination campaigns as soon as the first candidates were authorized for emergency use, Israel has made the most progress. The country has already vaccinated 53.7% of the population with at least one dose, which means 4.65 million people. What is even more impressive is that 37.8% of Israel’s population has already received both doses, or 3.27 million people. This gives Israel a big advantage over everyone else, and the country is likely to be the first to achieve herd immunity.
Israel’s accelerated vaccination program has also enabled the country’s scientists to carry out the most extensive vaccine study in the world to date. More than 1 million people measured the effectiveness of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine in Israel, far exceeding the reach of Phase 3 tests. The good news is that the findings were in line with the findings of Pfizer and BioNTech, providing additional information about the benefits of the drug. More interestingly, the study was conducted as soon as the UK mutation (B.1.1.7) became dominant in Israel.
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The Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine was 92% effective in preventing serious diseases after the full two-dose regimen. The researchers also measured effectiveness after the first dose, finding that the drug was 62% effective in preventing severe COVID-19. Likewise, a single dose was sufficient to prevent deaths from COVID-19 two to three weeks after the first injection with 72% effectiveness.
The vaccine was 57% effective in preventing the symptoms of COVID-19 two to three weeks after the first dose and 94% one week or more after the second dose. The Phase 3 trial, which included 30,000 volunteers, showed that the drug was 95% effective.
The effectiveness in preventing hospitalization was 74% after one dose and 87% after complete treatment. When it comes to preventing confirmed infections, the effectiveness was 46% and 92%, respectively. The study failed to determine whether the vaccine can prevent the virus from spreading, although reducing the number of infections has given researchers hope that this is the case.
The drug worked just as well in young people as it did in people over 70, the researchers found. In total, 41 people died of COVID-19 complications, but only nine were in the vaccine group.
The Clalit Research Institute and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel worked with Harvard University on the study. They included 600,000 people over the age of 16 who were vaccinated in December and January, comparing them to an equal number of people who did not receive the vaccine. None of these participants had tested positive for COVID-19 before the study.
“This is extremely comforting … better than I could have imagined,” said Dr. Gregory Poland of Mayo Clinic Associated Press. “Even after a dose, we can see very high effectiveness in preventing death,” said Dr. Buddy Creech of Vanderbilt University to the news site. None of the doctors were involved in the Israeli study.
Both doctors agreed that the study provides more evidence in support of postponing the second dose, so that more people can receive some protection from the first injection. Some countries have already changed the vaccination protocol in early 2021. The UK has postponed the second injection for up to 12 weeks to cover more people. Pfizer / BioNTech doses should be administered three weeks apart, according to the Phase 3 trial protocol.
Another idea to stretch the supply is to give COVID-19 survivors just one dose instead of two. France is already doing this, notes the report. At least four studies concluded that a single dose is sufficient to increase the immune response in survivors of COVID-19 to the same level as two doses.
Another major benefit of the study is that it was conducted when variant B.1.1.7 became dominant in Israel. Therefore, the various levels of effectiveness observed by the researchers indicate that the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine works well against this particular strain. The study may also help to influence people who are undecided to be vaccinated, since a narrative that people who hesitate to vaccinate often cite is that Phase 3 testing has been limited. Israel’s trial only addressed these concerns, considering how broad in scope it was.
The full study is available at this link.
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Chris Smith started writing about gadgets as a hobby and, before he knew it, was sharing his views on technology with readers around the world. Whenever he’s not writing about gadgets, he miserably fails to stay away from them, although he tries desperately. But this is not necessarily a bad thing.