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The “ magic ” of the Israeli vaccine began to work as coronavirus cases among vulnerable ages plunged since the distribution of the second dose of Pfizer.
But in a blow to Britain’s strategy of leaving 12 weeks between injections, the new study warns that the first dose is not “ very effective ” at reducing cases.
Israel began administering the second dose on January 10 and a marked divergence in the number of cases between the oldest and youngest age groups shows the coup is taking hold.
Daily rates of cases among those over 60 fell 46% from the peak in mid-January, when there was a much smaller 18% drop in infections among those under 60, a showed a new study from the Weizmann Institute in Tel Aviv.
NEW POSITIVE CASES (sliding weekly figure): the second dose was distributed from January 10
NEW CASES IN HOSPITAL (weekly sliding figure): those over 60 were the first group vaccinated and saw a 35% drop in cases, 30% in hospitalizations and 20% in seriously ill people over the two weeks to february 1st
Holocaust survivor Joseph Zalman Kleinman, 92, receives his second dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, administered by Rachel Atias of the United Hatzalah Paramedic Service at the Clalit Health Services vaccination center in a sports arena in Jerusalem, on Thursday January 21
As of Thursday, 78% of those over 60 had received two doses of the Pfizer jab.
Hospital admissions are down 35% from mid-January, while young adult admissions have remained stable and are even slightly higher now.
A similar disparity is seen in hospital admissions, with a 30% drop for those over 60 in the two weeks leading up to February 1.
There was also a 20% drop in the number of critically ill patients in the older age group during this period.
Another study by the Israel Institute of Technology found the Pfizer jab to be 66-85% effective in preventing infection and 87-96% effective in stopping serious illness.
These figures suggest that the vaccine is not as effective as Pfizer’s own data has shown, but these are very strong results nonetheless.
Study author Professor Dvir Aran told the Telegraph: “Our sensitivity analysis provides an estimate of the vaccine’s effectiveness in reducing positive and severe cases.
“ Although this estimate is lower than the effectiveness of [Pfizer trial] it is always substantial and reassures about the effectiveness of the vaccine ”.
But the study also found that a single hit was not “very effective” against Covid.
Britain has decided to extend the interval between doses from the three weeks recommended by Pfizer to 12 weeks because of the unpredictability of supplies.
“We find that immediately after the second dose, the effectiveness increases,” Professor Aran said.
However, he noted that this could be because it takes a while for the first dose to work – around two weeks.
“We will have to wait and see the figures from the UK,” he added.
Announcing the findings of the Weizmann Institute on Monday, lead author Professor Eran Segal, computer scientist, said: “We say with caution, the magic has begun.
He said they expected the results to appear earlier in the data, but the impact of the blow may have been marred by the mutant Kent variant.
“The British variant is also the dominant variant here now and if the reports are correct it not only spreads faster but also causes more serious illness. This may have been another factor that offset the [early] the impact of the vaccine, ”added Professor Segal.
When cases started to drop, it was not immediately clear whether this was due to Pfzer jabs or a new nationwide lockdown imposed on January 8.
But the new data provides strong evidence that this is due to vaccines.
‘The effect is stronger [among older people] than in younger populations that were vaccinated later, and these patterns were not seen in the previous lockdown, ”Professor Segal said.
Young man receives vaccine Thursday in Jerusalem as Israel leads world in vaccines and begins immunizing younger age groups
Nurse prepares shot at sports arena in Jerusalem
Israel announced yesterday that it would ease lockdown measures from Sunday morning, but that it would keep its international airport closed until February 20, as cases drop.
“The most important thing is that all Israelis over 50 are vaccinated,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised speech.
“Go get the vaccine. Vaccines work.
Israel has recorded a daily average of 6,500 new cases of Covid-19, up from around 8,000 in mid-January, according to official figures.
A strict nationwide lockdown has been extended four times to tackle the infection rate, but January was the deadliest month with more than 1,000 deaths from Covid.
Israel has recorded a total of more than 675,000 cases of Covid-19, including more than 5,000 deaths.
As part of the easing, Israelis will no longer be restricted to within 500 meters of their homes, and services such as barbers and beauty salons will be allowed to operate, and nature reserves and national parks will reopen.
The hotels remain closed and the restaurants will only be able to accommodate take-out meals.
Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, where international flights have been suspended since January 24, will remain closed until February 20, the government said.
Land borders must remain closed.
Since December, more than 3.3 million of Israel’s 9 million people have received their first injection of coronavirus vaccines.
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