Jerusalem – The first dose of Pfizer vaccination is 85% effective against coronavirus infection two to four weeks after inoculation, according to a study published in the Lancet. Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical giant and its German partner BioNTech have told the US Food and Drug Administration that their vaccine can be stored safely at standard freezer temperatures, which, if approved by the FDA, could facilitate faster distribution. , denying the need for expensive costs. freezing storage.
The Israeli survey was conducted on health care workers at the country’s largest hospital, which launched a mass vaccination campaign on December 19 considered the fastest in the world.
Israeli studies have found that the Pfizer vaccine is 95% effective a week after a second jab, while the Lancet report focused on more than 9,000 medical staff at Sheba Hospital near Tel Aviv. About 7,000 of them received the first dose, and the rest were not inoculated.
Of the group, 170 were diagnosed with COVID-19 after tests performed only on those who had symptoms or were in contact with coronavirus carriers. Fifty-two percent of them turned out not to have been vaccinated. Comparing the two groups, the Sheba study calculated that the vaccine was 47% effective between one and 14 days after inoculation, increasing to 85% after 15 to 28 days.
“What we see is a really high efficiency immediately after two weeks, between two weeks and four weeks after the vaccine, an already high effectiveness of reducing the symptomatic infection by 85%,” said Gili Regev-Yochay, co-author of the study. . small group of journalists.
He said that although the vaccine is “amazingly effective”, scientists are still studying whether fully vaccinated people can transmit the virus to others.
“This is the big, big, question. We are working on this. It is not about this work and I hope we will have good news soon,” Regev-Yochay said.
To date, data from studies on a single major vaccine used worldwide, the shot at Oxford University / AstraZeneca developed in the UK, show the effectiveness in preventing asymptomatic infection, indicating this could also help reduce transmission.
Pfizer says deep freezing is not necessary
Pfizer and BioNTech announced the submission of research data on storage temperatures to the FDA in a joint statement on Friday.
The FDA’s emergency use authorization for the vaccine, issued months ago, stipulates that it must be kept at temperatures well below zero (-112 ° F to -76 ° F), which requires special equipment for both transportation and storage at health care units. According to the new company recommendation, the vaccine could be stored for up to two weeks at standard freezer temperatures from -13 ° F to 5 ° F, “as an alternative or complement to storage in an ultra-low temperature freezer.” .
“We have continuously conducted stability studies to support commercial-scale vaccine production in order to make the vaccine as accessible as possible to healthcare providers and individuals in the United States and around the world,” said Albert Bourla, CEO. to Pfizer. Friday’s statement announcing the FDA’s request to change its guidelines. “We appreciate our continued collaboration with the FDA and the CDC as we work to ensure that our vaccine can be shipped and stored in increasingly flexible conditions. If approved, this new storage option would give pharmacies and vaccination centers more flexibility in how they manage their vaccine supply. . “
“The data presented can facilitate the handling of our vaccine in pharmacies and can give vaccination centers even more flexibility,” added BioNTech CEO and co-founder Ugur Sahin. We will continue to use our expertise to develop potential new formulations that could make our vaccine even easier to transport and use.
The other vaccine approved for use and already widely circulated in the US, manufactured by Moderna, also currently requires storage and transportation under freezing conditions in accordance with FDA guidelines for use. The Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine requires refrigeration only at standard temperatures, which makes it much easier to move and store, but this photo has not yet received the green light to be used in the US.