Israel has registered eight cases of a coronavirus variant first identified in India and considers the Pfizer / BioNTech (PFE.N) vaccine (22UAy.DE) to be at least partially effective against it, a government official said on Tuesday. Israeli health.
The first seven cases of the Indian variant were detected last week in Israel among people arriving from abroad and undergoing preliminary tests, the Ministry of Health said.
“The impression is that the Pfizer vaccine is effective against it, although of low effectiveness,” Hezi Levy, the ministry’s director general, told Kan public radio, saying the number of variant cases in Israel now stands at eight.
The ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for more details on the Indian version’s investigation.
The United Kingdom and Ireland have also said they are investigating the variant after detecting it inside their borders.
Israel, with a population of 9.3 million, has completely vaccinated about 81% of citizens or residents over the age of 16. COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations dropped sharply.
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