A large-scale Israeli study pointed to the effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in preventing symptomatic infections with the coronavirus. Clalit, the largest of Israel’s four healthcare providers, released a study on Sunday that compared infections among 600,000 Israelis who received the vaccine compared with 600,000 who were not immunized.
The study found a 94% drop in symptomatic infections and 92% in severe cases of the disease among those vaccinated. He said that “the vaccine’s effectiveness is preserved in all age groups”, particularly one week after the second dose of the vaccine.
The researchers said the preliminary findings from the ongoing research “aim to emphasize to the population that has not yet been vaccinated that the vaccine is highly effective and prevents serious diseases.”
Israel launched its COVID-19 vaccine campaign in December. Since then, more than a quarter of the population – 2.5 million people – have received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and more than 42% have received the first injection, according to the Ministry of Health.
The country of 9 million inhabitants, which currently reduces restrictions imposed during its third national blockade, plans to vaccinate everyone over 16 by the end of March.
“The publication of preliminary results at this stage is intended to emphasize to the unvaccinated population that the vaccine is highly effective and prevents serious morbidities,” said Clalit on Sunday.
He added that the study covered people who received the second injection at least seven days before being tested, and would be expanded in the future.
“With each additional week that passes, we will be able to make the assessment more accurate.”
Accuracy would improve as individuals were tested after 14 days or more of the second dose, the study said.
AFP contributed to this report.