A coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech has been shown to reduce symptomatic COVID-19 by 94%, according to new research from Israel. The peer-reviewed results offer a first analysis of efficacy in real-world conditions and showed consistency with the high effectiveness of the 95% vaccine reported during clinical trials.
The findings of the Clalit Research Institute and the contribution efforts of several US universities were published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday, involving about 1.2 million people in Israel. Half of the group was vaccinated from December to February, and the other half was not, serving as a control group.
A peer-reviewed study of an immunization effort across the country is important to assess the effectiveness of the vaccine in the real world, uncontrolled conditions compared to clinical trials and to take into account the difficulties of maintaining the cold chain, vaccination and vaccine release among many more people from diverse populations, including those with chronic diseases, the researchers wrote. Individuals under the age of 16 were excluded, although Pfizer is currently conducting clinical tests in the 12 to 15 age group.
One week after administering two doses, the team documented 87% effectiveness in reducing hospitalizations, a 92% cut in severe illness and 92% effectiveness in documented infection, compared with 14-20 days after an initial dose of 74%, 62% and 46%, respectively.
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“This study in a nationwide mass vaccination scenario suggests that the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine is effective for a wide range of results related to Covid-19, a finding consistent with that of the randomized trial,” says the study.
The results also suggest that the vaccine provided the same degree of protection for adults over 70 as the younger groups. The Food and Drug Administration said earlier that it could not assess the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine in certain populations at high risk for severe COVID-19, such as immunocompromised individuals, or in those who were previously infected with SARS-CoV-2.
In a separate note, the researchers said the vaccine is likely to be effective against a variant of coronavirus first detected in the UK, called B.1.1.7. Although they could not specify the efficacy of the vaccine against the variant, up to 80% of the samples in Israel had the variant before the data was collected, with the study authors writing, “the plateau observed during later periods on the cumulative incidence curve. [on hospitalizations, deaths and more] for vaccinated persons suggests that the BNT162b2 vaccine is also effective for this variant. ”A separate variant first detected in South Africa was considered“ rare ”during the first vaccination efforts in Israel.
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Israel has been hailed for its rapid vaccination efforts and high acceptance, with about a third of its population now fully vaccinated.
“These results reinforce the expectation that newly approved vaccines can help mitigate the profound global effects of the Covid-19 pandemic,” wrote the study’s authors.