Israeli research shows that the coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer not only protects vaccinees against contraction of COVID-19, but also helps prevent immune people from spreading the disease to others.
The question of whether the vaccine would help prevent those who received it from continuing to be carriers was a key issue as vaccines were launched around the world.
Woman is inoculated against coronavirus at vaccination center in Jerusalem
(Photo: AFP)
Clinical research conducted by Israel’s largest health fund, Clalit, showed a significant drop in infections among 200,000 people aged 60 and more than two weeks after the first vaccines were administered. Not all of the 200,000 people involved in the research received the vaccine.
Professor Ran Balicer, head of innovation at Clalit, says there is no visible effect on overall infection rates on days 5 to 12 after administering the first dose of the two-stage vaccination.
According to the data, there was a slight drop in morbidity on day 13, but on day 14 there was a 33% drop in the spread of the disease between those who were vaccinated and those who were not.
The Pfizer vaccine
(Photo: AFP)
Israel started vaccinating its population with the Pfizer vaccine on December 20, 2020. So far, the country has applied the first of the two vaccines to nearly 2 million people and has started to administer the second dose.
This is the first evidence that the Pfizer vaccine not only prevents a person from contracting COVID-19 after exposure to the coronavirus, but also prevents the exposed person from transmitting the virus to others.
It is not yet clear whether the first dose of the vaccine reduces morbidity by more than 33%, or what the percentage would be after the second dose, but Israeli health experts believe the data show a significant drop in the spread of the virus.
Prof. Ran Balicer, head of innovation at Clalit HMO
(Photo: Orel Cohen)
Professor Balicer said that although the results are only preliminary, they are “very encouraging”.
“It is important to keep in mind that these results do not show that there is total protection against the disease,” he said.
“Therefore, whoever was vaccinated should still exercise caution, wear a mask and follow public health rules” to protect those around them.
Balicer said experts hope to prove in the coming weeks that the vaccine also helps to reduce serious cases of COVID and hospitalization of infected people.