TEL AVIV – The Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE is equally effective in all age groups, including those over 60, according to a new Israeli study, in increasing confidence for global health efforts. vaccination.
The Pfizer vaccine provided about 94% protection against the development of coronavirus symptoms in all age groups over 16, one week after the second injection of a recommended two-dose regimen, according to a study by researchers from the Israel Clalit Research Institute and Harvard University. The study also found that the vaccine is 92% effective in preventing serious diseases.
The results are in line with the vaccine manufacturer’s own clinical trial, but the large size of the study, which covered about 1.2 million people, provides a more accurate view of the older age groups that were scarcely covered by the trial. vaccine manufacturer, according to the study authors. .
The peer-reviewed study, parts of which were previously reported, was published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Israel is the only country that has started vaccinating all age groups over 16 in relatively large numbers, as part of its campaign to inoculate the majority of its nine million population by March.