Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech announced on Thursday morning that real evidence from the Israeli Ministry of Health shows that there have been “dramatically” fewer cases and deaths of Covid-19 among people in Israel who have been fully vaccinated with Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine compared to those who have not been vaccinated.
The latest analysis by the Israeli Ministry of Health is based on data collected between 17 January and 6 March, according to the announcement. During that time, the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine was the only Covid-19 vaccine available in the country and the coronavirus B.1.1.7 variant, which was first identified in the UK, was dominant.
According to the announcement by Pfizer and BioNTech, the latest analysis by the Israeli Ministry of Health shows that two weeks after the second dose, the vaccine’s effectiveness was at least 97% in preventing symptomatic diseases, hospitalizations and death. The analysis also found that the vaccine’s effectiveness was 94% in preventing asymptomatic Covid-19, where infections show no symptoms
“We are extremely encouraged that real-world efficacy data from Israel is confirming the high efficacy shown in our Phase 3 clinical trial and showing the significant impact of the vaccine in preventing serious illness and deaths due to COVID-19,” Luis Jodar, senior vice president and medical director at Pfizer Vaccines, said in the announcement.
“The findings that suggest that the vaccine may also provide protection against asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections are particularly significant, as we seek to stop the spread of the virus around the globe,” said Jodar.
SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the virus that causes Covid-19.
The announcement comes about two weeks after a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the risk of symptomatic Covid-19 – that is, people who were infected with the coronavirus and felt bad – decreased 94% among those who received two doses of the vaccine. Even before the second dose, the vaccine’s effectiveness reached 60%.
“This clearly demonstrates the power of the COVID-19 vaccine to fight this virus and encourages us to continue our vaccination campaign even more intensely. Our goal is to achieve even greater absorption in people of all ages, which gives us hope of resume normal economy and social function in the not too distant future, “said Yeheskel Levy, director of Israel’s Ministry of Health, in the announcement.
“When we started our development last year in January, our goal was to make a difference for people around the world and help end this pandemic,” said Dr. Ugur Sahin, co-founder and CEO of BioNTech, in the announcement . “One year after the WHO declared a pandemic, we now see that we are on the right track to achieve our goals.”
Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, said data from Israel showing that the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine prevents asymptomatic infections and death is a message of hope one year after a pandemic was declared.
“It is a great opportunity, I think, that on this day of the first anniversary of the declaration of a pandemic, we have a message of hope,” Bourla told CNBC’s Meg Tirrell at Squawk Box.
Bourla explained that the data comes from a country where more than 55% of the total population has been vaccinated.
The effectiveness so far in Israel is 97%, saying that “all three measures, mild illness, hospitalizations and deaths are above 97% in effectiveness in the real world with millions of people vaccinated”.
Perhaps most important of all, he said, it appeared to be 94% effective against asymptomatic transmission.
Bourla said that this is important for society, “because asymptomatic carriers, it is asymptomatic patients that they mainly spread the disease”.
“This is the first time that we are arriving with the confirmation of a study of real-world evidence of this magnitude,” he said.