COVID: Pfizer vaccine less effective against South African strain, Israeli study finds

Faced with the new variants of coronavirus that have appeared during the last months of the pandemic, the emphasis is on determining the effectiveness of vaccines against these new strains while, at the same time, vaccination is progressing across the world.

A study conducted in Israel analyzed that the South African variant has a greater ability to “pierce” the defenses of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine compared to other forms of virus.

COVID: Chinese official admits low efficacy of vaccines from this country

As they stated at AFP Researchers at Tel Aviv University and Clalit, the country’s main health service, the research compared 400 unvaccinated people who contracted COVID-19 with 400 other partially or fully vaccinated people, who also have it. contracted.

Israel vaccinated 600 minors and there were no adverse effects

Among the 150 people who received the two required doses of the vaccine, “the prevalence rate (of the South African variant) was eight times higher than in unvaccinated people”, concludes the study published Saturday, April 10. which has not yet been peer reviewed.

“This means that the Pfizer / BioNtech vaccine, although very protective, probably does not offer the same level of protection against the South African variant of the coronavirus “than against other variants of the virus, the researchers detailed.

More provinces to buy vaccines but anticipate delays

Star Adi, a professor at Tel Aviv University and co-author of the study, said the South African variant “is capable, to some extent, of going beyond the protection of the vaccine.” “The low number of vaccinated people infected” with the South African variant – eight, less than 1% of those infected in Israel – the data is “statistically insignificant,” he said.

On the other hand, two studies published in February in the New England Journal of Medicine, carried out by the Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna laboratories, showed a lower presence of antibodies after vaccination in people infected with the South African variant, which indicates decreased protection.

Israel, a success in the fight against the coronavirus

The pandemic situation in Israel

Since the start of the pandemic, Israel has recorded 835,900 cases of covid and 6,296 deaths, and in recent weeks it has seen a decline in the severity of the health situation thanks to a massive vaccination campaign that began on the 19th. December.

The classification Covid resilience ranking covers 10 mobile indicators, including cases, deaths, vaccinations, freedom of movement of people and economic outlook, shows where the virus has been managed most effectively, with the least social and economic disruption.

In March, the world’s fastest vaccination surge put Israel in the top five in the rankings, putting it on a par with success stories like New Zealand and Taiwan.

AG / MC