Major study in Israel finds Pfizer vaccine reduces infection rate

Israel’s largest health maintenance organization (HMO), the Clalit Health Fund, has released the results of the first major research into the effects of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine. Clalit examined 200,000 people aged 60 and over who received the vaccination and needed a Covid-19 test, of whom 200,000 were not vaccinated and also needed to be tested, and looked at the percentage of positive Covid-19 tests in each group.

Between the fifth and twelfth days after vaccination, there was still no difference in the number of positive tests between the two groups. But starting 14 days after vaccination, there was a significant 33% drop in the percentage of people with HIV who had been vaccinated, compared to those who had not.

Knowing that the vaccinated group has yet to have their second Pfizer vaccination, in order to build full immunity, the results obtained by Clalit were in line with expectations. In its trial, Pfizer discovered the effects of the first vaccination after 11 days. The similarity between Clalit’s research in Israel and the results of Pfizer’s trials reinforced the feeling that the lower percentage of people who tested positive were from the vaccine and not from other variables.

Clalit Research Institute director Professor Ran Balicer explained that while Pfizer’s research was based on people who experienced symptoms of Covid-19, Clalit’s research included people from both groups who came for testing because ‘they were experiencing symptoms, but also others who had come into contact with someone diagnosed with Covid-19.

Clalit’s research also matches a smaller project led by Professor Gili Regev, director of the Infectious Disease Epidemiology Unit at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer near Tel Aviv. She looked at 200 people who had received their first vaccination and found that after a week, only 1% had developed enough antibodies to provide immunity, but that number increased to 50% after two weeks.

Professor Balicer said: “We are waiting to cross-reference the data that we are monitoring over time, in order to confirm these results. But the results match in terms of timing and trend that we have seen in controlled vaccine research. producers. “

Meanwhile, the virus has worsened in Israel. For the second day in a row, the Department of Health reported more than 9,000 new cases of Covid-19, although the number of severe cases has stabilized at just over 1,000.

This ability to provide Pfizer with real-time data on the protection offered by the vaccine is one of the main reasons the company has provided Israel with so many millions of doses.

Posted by Globes, Israel Business News – fr.globes.co.il – January 13, 2021

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