- A study that included 1.2 million people in Israel, half of whom were completely vaccinated with Pfizer / BioNTech, shows that the vaccine is extremely effective in preventing severe COVID-19.
- The researchers also found that the vaccine provides excellent protection against severe COVID-19, hospitalization and death – even after a single dose.
- The study was conducted in the early stages of vaccinations in Israel, during which time the B.1.1.7 mutation became dominant in the country.
Candidates for the coronavirus vaccine have been used for more than two months in various parts of the world, including North America, the European Union and Israel. More than 227.6 million people have received at least one dose of vaccine since Friday morning and more than 46 million have received the full two-dose regimen. Of all the countries that started vaccination campaigns as soon as the first candidates were authorized for emergency use, Israel has made the most progress. The nation has already vaccinated 53.7% of its population with at least one dose, which translates to 4.65 million people. What is even more impressive is that 37.8% of Israel’s population has already received both doses, or 3.27 million people. This gives Israel a huge advantage over everyone else, and the country will probably be the first to reach the herd’s immunity.
Israel’s accelerated vaccination program has also allowed scientists in the country to conduct the largest vaccine study in the world to date. More than 1 million people were observed to measure the effectiveness of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine in Israel, far exceeding the reach of phase 3 studies. The good news is that the findings were consistent with the findings of Pfizer and BioNTech, providing an additional perspective on the benefits . More interestingly, the study was conducted exactly when the UK mutation (B.1.1.7) became dominant in Israel.
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The Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine was 92% effective in preventing severe disease after the complete two-dose regimen. The researchers also measured the effectiveness after the first dose, finding that the drug was 62% effective in preventing severe COVID-19. Similarly, a single dose was sufficient to prevent COVID-19 deaths two to three weeks after the first stroke with 72% efficacy.
The vaccine was 57% effective in preventing COVID-19 symptoms two to three weeks after the first dose and 94% per week or more after the second dose. The Phase 3 study, which included 30,000 volunteers, showed that the drug is 95% effective.
The efficacy in preventing hospitalization was 74% after a dose and 87% after complete treatment. When it comes to preventing confirmed infections, the effectiveness was 46% and 92%, respectively. The study could not determine if the vaccine could prevent the virus from spreading, although reducing the number of infections gave researchers hope that might be the case.
The drug worked just as well for young people and people over the age of 70, the researchers found. A total of 41 people died from COVID-19 complications, but only nine were in the vaccine group.
The Clalit Research Institute and Ben-Gurion University in the Negev of Israel worked with Harvard University on this study. They included 600,000 people over the age of 16 who were vaccinated in December and January, compared to an equal number of people who did not receive the vaccine. None of these participants tested positive for COVID-19 before the study.
“This is extremely reassuring … better than I would have guessed,” said Dr. Gregory Poland, Mayo Clinic Associated Press. “Even after a single dose, we can see very effective in preventing death,” Dr. Buddy Creech of Vanderbilt University told the news site. No doctors were involved in the Israeli study.
Both doctors agreed that the study provides more evidence to support the delay of the second dose, so that more people can benefit from some protection from the first blow. Some countries have already changed the vaccination protocol in early 2021. The UK has postponed the second blow by up to 12 weeks to cover more people. Pfizer / BioNTech doses should be administered three weeks apart, according to Phase 3 protocol.
Another idea to expand the reserve is to give COVID-19 survivors only one dose instead of two. France is already doing so, the report notes. At least four studies have concluded that a single dose is sufficient to enhance the immune response in COVID-19 survivors at the same level as two doses.
Another major benefit of the study is that it was conducted when variant B.1.1.7 became dominant in Israel. Therefore, the different levels of efficacy observed by the researchers indicate that the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine works well against this strain. The study could also help influence people who are undecided to inoculate, as one narrative that people who are reluctant to get vaccinated often cite is that phase 3 studies have been limited. The Israeli trial has just addressed these concerns, given the breadth of its scope.
The full study is available at this link.
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Chris Smith began writing about gadgets as a hobby, and before he knew it, he was sharing his views on technology with readers around the world. Whenever he doesn’t write about gadgets, he can’t stay away from them, even though he tries desperately. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.