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For the first time, an Israeli who had previously recovered from the coronavirus was discovered on Sunday to be re-infected with the so-called South African strain, Hebrew media reported.
The diagnosis came amid continued uncertainty over the effectiveness of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine that Israel is using for its mass inoculation program against new strains of the virus.
Ziv Yaffe, 57, from the central region of the country, recently returned from Turkey. Speaking to Channel 12 news, he said that when he got his first infection in August he had “all the symptoms”, the second time around he felt fine.
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Yaffe returned to Israel on January 16. On January 23, he had a bit of a runny nose and decided to be tested for the virus, while participating in follow-up research at Assaf Harofeh Medical Center. The test showed he had been re-infected and further testing revealed that he had caught the South African mutation.
Shai Efrati, head of research and development at the medical center, told the station that Yaffe’s case was unique because doctors had a complete medical record of his episodes with the virus.
“This is the first time that we have a complete record, of the infection, of the cure, of the reinfection, and that the antibodies he had protected from mutation,” Efrati said.
“What we’re learning is that when there are antibodies, they protect against disease,” he said.
Screenshot from video of Ziv Yaffe, left, who has been re-infected with the coronavirus, and Shai Efrati of Assaf Harofeh Medical Center. (News from Channel 12)
Efrati warned that it was too early to conclude that anyone who has had the disease is also protected from other mutations, saying it would take more similar cases before such conclusions can be drawn.
But, he added, Yaffe’s case is “very encouraging”.
Yaffe said that in addition to not feeling bad, his family members and others had been in close contact with him during the time of his second infection, but none caught the virus from him.
His case is the second time the South African variant has been introduced to Israel from Turkey, according to the Ynet website.
Health officials fear the South African mutation, similar to British and California strains considered more infectious, could lead to another wave of the virus among those who have recovered from a previous infection and are not vaccinated as part of the vaccination campaign. .
All previous patients with the South African mutation, first discovered in South Africa in December, were people who returned to the country from South Africa, Ethiopia or Dubai, according to the report.
Sharon Alroy-Preis, acting head of the ministry’s public health division, practically addresses the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee on January 6, 2021 (Screen capture: YouTube)
On Saturday, Dr Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of public health services at the Ministry of Health, told public broadcaster Kan that there were preliminary indications that coronavirus vaccines may prove to be less effective in killing themselves. protect against the South African variant.
“We do not yet have any evidence that any of the variants are completely resistant to the vaccine, but there is preliminary evidence to say that perhaps the vaccine’s efficacy is somewhat less against the South African variant,” Alroy-Preis said.
She said tests were still underway to clarify the issue.
Pfizer and BioNTech, whose vaccine is being used in Israel’s leading vaccination campaign, said on Thursday that initial tests suggest their immunization would be protective against variants from South Africa and Britain.
Their study found that the antibodies were able to neutralize all sets of mutations tested. He noted that the effect was “slightly lower” against three mutations in the variant found in South Africa, including E484K. But the companies said it was “unlikely to lead to a significant reduction in the effectiveness of the vaccine.”
The Health Ministry confirmed last week that three more cases of the South African coronavirus variant were found in Israel, bringing the strain’s total number of infections to 30. Three of the cases were found in a sample random, which raises concerns for the undetected community. propagate.
Meanwhile, the UK variant is spreading wildly in Israel, with health officials blaming the high number of coronavirus cases after weeks of lockdown on the UK mutation. Daily infections still number in the thousands, despite Israel’s strict restrictions and vaccination campaign.
A man receives an injection of COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Jerusalem on January 28, 2021 (Olivier Fitoussi / Flash90)
More than 3 million Israelis – nearly a third of its population – received the first dose of the vaccine and 1.7 million received both vaccines. Vaccines are administered according to a plan that began with medical workers, people over the age of 60, and risk groups, with the age limit steadily decreasing as more citizens complete the vaccination cycle. in two doses.
In an effort to prevent variants of the virus from entering the country, Israel has closed its main international airport, including to its own citizens. The order will expire on Sunday, but will likely be extended.
The government is expected to extend the nationwide lockdown for an additional week on Sunday to lower infection rates.
Since the virus outbreak began early last year, 641,373 people in Israel have been diagnosed with the virus, according to Health Ministry figures released on Sunday. The death toll stood at 4,768.
The agencies contributed to this report.
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