Real-world study shows high efficacy of Pfizer and BioNTech coronavirus vaccine

The first observational study published this Thursday in the journal The Lancet on the results of the vaccination against the coronavirus generated by the vaccine of Pfizer and BioNTech in Israel confirms over 95% protection against infections and hospitalizations, although the level of effectiveness decreases when a person receives only one of the two doses.

The country has more than half of its adult population vaccinated with both injections (58%) and is a wide field of analysis to understand the reduction in the spread of the virus and the effect of containment and subsequent de-escalation measures. This is why the world is closely monitoring the results, while Israel has managed to normalize its activities on the basis of a successful vaccination campaign.

The study, which is the largest ever conducted by scientists from Pfizer and the Israeli government, highlights “the public health benefits of a national immunization program,” which was “the main driver of the decline COVID-19 infections “.

However, the same study warns against “caution when generalizing these findings to other nations”, because the speed of vaccination programs and the evolution of the pandemic differ, in addition to observing the circulation of other variants.

The text is the version published and reviewed by other independent scientists of the first results revealed in March by Pfizer and the Israeli Ministry of Health. This is health data collected between January 24 and April 3, when 72% of those over 16 (nearly 5 million people) and 90% of those over 65 in Israel received their two doses of the vaccine. Pfizer / BioNTech. The analysis focuses on the efficacy of the vaccine against the English variant (called B.1.1.7), which is dominant in the country.

The observation took into account national surveillance data from the first 4 months of the vaccination campaign to determine incident cases of infections and laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 results, as well as the use of the vaccine in residents of Israel 16 years of age or older. .

High efficiency

Another of the data reflected in the publication is that the development it is “highly effective” seven days after the second dose: protects 95.3% of infections, 97.2% of hospitalizations and 96.7% of deaths. These levels of protection remain similar in people over 85 years old.

However, the study marks a fall with a first “blow”. When people received only one of the two doses, the decrease is notable: 57.7% against infection, 75.7% against hospitalizations and 77% against deaths among those over 16.

This research in real situation “shows the importance of a complete vaccination in adults”, with two doses, judge the authors. According to them, a single dose could also offer shorter protection, especially with the emergence of more resistant variants of the vaccine.

At the time of analysis, there were 232,268 confirmed COVID-19 infections in Israel (with 4,481 serious infections and 1,113 deaths), and nearly 95% of the samples analyzed were of the English variant.

The researchers point out that this has not made it possible to study the effectiveness of the vaccine against the South African variant, also circulating in the country. In February, a first large-scale study (1.2 million people) conducted in Israel and published in the journal NEJM had reached similar conclusions.

The campaign to obtain Israeli immunity began against a backdrop of growing infections, which reached a maximum of 10,213 daily infections in January 2021. By the end of December, strict containment had already been declared which lasted until March. Currently, the country has returned to its normalcy, even without a chin strap and social distancing.

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