It works: Maccabi Healthcare Services in Israel announced that of the half million people who were fully vaccinated against COVID, only 544 – or 0.104% – were diagnosed with the coronavirus. Full story
Impressive data on the effectiveness of Pfizer’s coveted vaccine continued to emerge on Thursday, when Maccabi Healthcare Services in Israel announced that of the half million people who administered the two doses, only 544 – or 0.104% – were diagnosed with the coronavirus.
An Israeli health care provider who vaccinated half a million people with both doses of the Pfizer vaccine says that only 544 people – or 0.1% – were later diagnosed with the coronavirus, there were four serious cases and no people died, Times reports Israel.
That means the effectiveness rate is 93%, Maccabi Healthcare Services announced on Thursday.
Full protection for people who were vaccinated is believed to occur a week after the second injection, so Maccabi data covers all members who are seven or more days after receiving the second dose, the Times of Israel reported.
Maccabi’s statistics are being closely monitored around the world, to provide the first important insights into the vaccine’s performance outside of clinical trials. And they are widely acclaimed for indicating that the effectiveness in real words is close to the 95% effectiveness cited after Pfizer’s clinical tests.
“These data prove unequivocally that the vaccine is very effective and we have no doubt that it saved the lives of many Israelis,” said Dr. Maccabi, a senior Maccabi official. Miri Mizrahi Reuveni after the release of new data.
She stressed that, among those who were vaccinated and infected, the vast majority tried the coronavirus slightly. Of the 523,000 people fully vaccinated, 544 were infected with COVID, of which 15 required hospitalization: eight are in mild condition, three in moderate condition and four in severe condition.
“Whoever has not been vaccinated so far, please hurry up and make an appointment as soon as possible,” she said. “Protect yourself from a serious illness and, God forbid, death, as well as the possibility of infecting and putting other people in danger.”