Israel says Pfizer Covid vaccine is just 39% effective as delta spreads, but still prevents severe illness
(Worthy News) – Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine is just 39% effective in Israel where the delta variant is the dominant strain, but still provides strong protection against severe illness and hospitalization, according to a new report from the country’s Health Ministry.
The efficacy figure, which is based on an unspecified number of people between June 20 and July 17, is down from an earlier estimate of 64% two weeks ago and conflicts with data out of the U.K. that found the shot was 88% effective against symptomatic disease caused by the variant.
However, the two-dose vaccine still works very well in preventing people from getting seriously sick, demonstrating 88% effectiveness against hospitalization and 91% effectiveness against severe illness, according to the Israeli data published Thursday. [ Source: MSNBC (Read More…) ]
Study: Infection risk rises significantly 5 months after vaccination
Israelis who received their final COVID-19 vaccination jab more than five months ago have a higher chance of testing positive for coronavirus compared to those who received their jabs at a later date, a study published this week by Leumit Health Services, one of Israel’s state-run healthcare providers, shows.
The Leumit sample included 28,064 double-vaccinated Israeli adults of different ages who had never contracted the virus. They were administered PCR tests in order to find out how the passage of time affected the vaccine’s ability to prevent infection, i.e. the transmissibility of the virus.
The study began on June 1, when the highly contagious Delta variant became the dominant strain in Israel.
Data showed that Israelis who were vaccinated more than 142 days before being tested were about twice as likely to be positive compared to others who received their jabs at a later date, with a total of 423 (1.5%) testing positive for coronavirus. [ Source: Israel Hayom (Read More…) ]