Photographer: Kobi Wolf / Bloomberg
Photographer: Kobi Wolf / Bloomberg
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Israel’s world-leading campaign to vaccinate its citizens is beginning to control the disease, according to the country’s second health network.
Maccabi Health Services studied a sample group of 50,777 people over the age of 60 inoculated in late December and then again in mid-January. The raw data showed that, two days after the second blow, the number of new infections and hospitalizations decreased by about 60% from their peak, the researchers reported.
Trends began to change around two weeks after the first dose, according to an analysis by Maccabi’s KSM Research and Innovation Center in collaboration with Israeli researchers in computational health, the KI Institute.
Shift Shift
Israeli analysis shows that the Pfizer vaccine reduces positive virus cases
Source: Maccabi Research and Innovation Center
A separate Israeli study of health workers who received two doses of the Pfizer Inc. shot. found high levels of antibodies in almost every participant that matched or exceeded clinical outcomes.
Israeli study on Pfizer Shot finds high levels of antibodies (1)
Israel has been using the Pfizer vaccine extensively since it began its immunization process in late December, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offering data on the campaign to accelerate and expand deliveries. The country followed Pfizer’s instructions for a second blow about three weeks after the first, reserving the second dose.
Read more: Election pressure in Israel is helping to speed up the vaccination process
To date, about 2.5 million people, or more than a quarter of the population, have received a first dose, with almost one million more receiving a second. Children under the age of 16, who have not been approved for the vaccine, make up about 30% of the country’s 9.3 million people.
The country is currently in the middle of a third blockade that began in late December to control the resurgence of the outbreak. In total, Israel had nearly 600,000 cases and more than 4,360 deaths.
Over 63 million photos given: Covid-19 Vaccine Tracker