The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine reduces the risk of COVID-19 infection by about 50 percent 14 days after the first of the two doses is administered, according to a report citing preliminary data from Israel’s inoculation program.
Sharon Alroy-Preis, an official at the Ministry of Health, told Channel 12 News that the data was based on the results of hundreds of thousands of coronavirus tests among those who received the injection and those who did not, the Times of Israel reported.
Israel – where daily infections and total cases have reached historic levels – leads the world in terms of vaccination and has administered about 2 million doses, almost a fifth of its population, according to the agency.
By the end of March, it is estimated that 5.2 million citizens have been vaccinated.
Meanwhile, slightly different data has been released by the country’s health maintenance organizations.
Channel 13 News reported on Tuesday that, according to data released by Clalit, Israel’s largest health care provider, the chance of someone becoming infected dropped 33 percent 14 days after receiving the injection.
Other numbers recorded by health care provider Maccabi showed that the vaccine caused a 60 percent drop in the chances of infection under similar conditions, the Times of Israel reported.
HMOs compiled the data for about 800,000 patients who treated in total.
The reason for the discrepancy between the studies was not immediately clear, noted the media.
Regardless, the injection should only reach full protection potential one week after the second dose, which started in Israel this week, was administered.
The second dose is expected to bring immunity levels to about 95 percent after about a week, the agency said.
Alroy-Preis pointed out that the data were not sufficient to conclude that the vaccine completely prevents the transmission of the deadly virus, as it is believed that it can spread for some time if it is located in the nasal cavity.
She also expressed alarm at the increased infection rate, which has risen to almost 10,000 new cases daily in the country.
“We have never had a number like that,” she said, adding that the most infectious strain of the virus in the UK played a role in the sharp rise in serious cases.
Alroy-Preis said that 73 percent of Israelis over the age of 60 or who have other high-risk factors have already received at least one injection.
The latest figures show that 9,665 new cases were confirmed on Monday, a historic record – but the rate of positive tests, 7.6 percent, was about half the record reached in September, according to the report.