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Israeli coronavirus czar Nachman Ash reportedly said the first dose of Pfizer’s vaccine provided less protection against COVID-19 than the US pharmaceutical company initially stated, and warned it could not protect against new strains of the virus.
In discussions among health ministry officials ahead of Tuesday’s cabinet meeting about the possibility of extending the lockdown nationwide, Ash questioned the vaccine’s effectiveness after a single dose, the report said. army radio Tuesday afternoon.
Many people became infected between the first and second injections of Pfizer, Ash said, and the protection offered by the first dose appeared to be “less effective than we thought.” The data on the protective effect against the virus from the first dose is “less than that presented by Pfizer,” he said.
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Over 2 million Israelis have had their first injection of Pfizer. Over 400,000 had the second.
Education worker receives COVID-19 vaccine injection at Clalit clinic in Jerusalem on January 12, 2021 (Yonatan Sindel / Flash90)
According to the Ministry of Health, more than 12,400 people have tested positive for the coronavirus after receiving vaccines; this figure includes 69 people who received the second dose.
Pfizer claims its vaccine, produced with BioNTech, is about 52% effective after the first dose and increases to about 95% within days of the second dose.
Last week, Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of the Department of Health’s public health service, announced that the vaccine reduced infections by about 50% 14 days after the first of two injections was given. She said the data was preliminary and based on the results of coronavirus tests in those who received the vaccine and those who did not, who serve as a de facto control group.
At the same time, however, other somewhat contradictory data has been released by Israeli health-maintenance organizations: according to figures released by Clalit, Israel’s largest healthcare provider, the risk that a person either infected with the coronavirus fell by 33% 14 days after were vaccinated; separate figures recorded by healthcare provider Maccabi showed the vaccine resulted in a 60% drop in the chance of infection after taking the first vaccine.
During his talks with health officials on Tuesday, Ash also said he was uncertain whether the vaccine could protect against mutated variants of the coronavirus, according to the report.
A month after Israel’s vaccination campaign began, health ministry officials had hoped to see a drop in daily infections and severe cases, but there is no trend so far. The most contagious virus variants – especially the British strain – are accused of having difficulty reducing disease rates and alleviating the heavy burden on hospitals, despite the lockdown and mass vaccinations.
Members of the Ziv Hospital team transport a new patient to the coronavirus ward of the hospital in the city of Safed, in the north of the country, January 7, 2020 (David Cohen / Flash90)
Speaking to ministers at Tuesday’s so-called coronavirus cabinet meeting, Ash said health officials estimate the UK variant of the coronavirus causes 30-40% of current infections and will become the dominant strain in Israel within weeks, according to Hebrew media. . The mutated strain of the virus is more infectious, although it is not considered more deadly.
Ash reportedly recommended extending the national lockdown for two weeks until February 4, saying the baseline reproduction number, a key indicator of virus transmission, was declining, but that it would take a few more days for the full effect. locking is felt.
The health ministry said Tuesday morning that a record 10,021 infections had been confirmed the day before, bringing the country’s total number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 562,167, including 81,059 active cases. The rate of positive tests passed the 10% mark for the first time in more than three months, with 10.2% of the nearly 100,000 tests returning positive.
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