Coronavirus: Sheba says Pfizer vaccine is 75% effective after one dose

Data released Friday by Sheba Medical Center Tel Hashomer showed coronavirus infections were reduced by 75% after the first dose of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine.

The data, published in the peer-reviewed Lancet medical journal, centered on a study of about 9,000 Sheba health workers, of whom about 7,000 received their first dose in January. Sheba’s team found a 75% decrease in all infections and an 85% reduction in symptomatic infections between 15 and 28 days after vaccination.

According to Professor Gili Regev-Yochay, director of the hospital’s infectious disease epidemiology unit, only 170 people were infected during the two-week period. Of those who contracted the virus, 99 developed symptoms. Eighty-nine of the patients were not vaccinated.

“In real life, the data looks at least as good as it does in clinical trials,” Regev-Yochay said. “The first dose is even more effective than expected.”

“This is the first study to evaluate the efficacy of a single dose of vaccine under real conditions and shows early efficacy, even before the second dose is administered,” said Professor Eyal Leshem, director of Sheba’s Department of Travel and Tropical Medicine.

Several Israeli health funds and researchers have revealed preliminary data from the country’s vaccination campaign. This is the first study published in a peer-reviewed journal.

Regev-Yochay said additional reports are in the works.