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- A study that included 1.2 million people in Israel, half of whom were fully vaccinated with the drug Pfizer / BioNTech, shows the vaccine to be highly effective in preventing severe COVID-19.
- Researchers have also learned that the vaccine provides excellent protection against severe COVID-19, hospitalization and death – even after a single dose.
- The study was conducted in the early phase of vaccinations in Israel, during which time the B.1.1.7 mutation became dominant in the country.
The coronavirus vaccine candidates have been in use for more than two months in various regions of the world, including North America, the European Union and Israel. More than 227.6 million people received at least one dose of the vaccine on Friday morning, and more than 46 million received the full two-dose regimen. Of all the countries that launched vaccination campaigns as soon as the first candidates were cleared for emergency use, Israel has made the most progress. The country has already vaccinated 53.7% of its population with at least one dose, which corresponds to 4.65 million people. What is even more impressive is that 37.8% of the Israeli population have already received both doses, or 3.27 million people. This gives Israel a huge lead over everyone else, and the country will likely be the first to achieve collective immunity.
Israel’s Accelerated Vaccination Program has also enabled scientists in the country to conduct the world’s largest vaccine study to date. More than a million people have been observed to measure the effectiveness of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine in Israel, far beyond the scope of Phase 3 trials. The good news is that the findings were in line with the findings of Pfizer and BioNTech, providing additional insight into the drug’s benefits. What is more interesting, the study was carried out just as the British mutation (B.1.1.7) was becoming dominant in Israel.
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The Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine has been shown to be 92% effective in preventing serious illness after the full two-dose regimen. The researchers also measured the effectiveness after the first dose, finding that the drug was 62% effective in preventing severe COVID-19. Likewise, a single dose was sufficient to prevent COVID-19 deaths two to three weeks after the first jab with 72% effectiveness.
The vaccine was 57% effective at preventing symptoms of COVID-19 two to three weeks after the first dose and 94% a week or more after the second dose. The phase 3 trial which included 30,000 volunteers showed the drug to be 95% effective.
The effectiveness of preventing hospitalization was 74% after one dose and 87% after full treatment. Regarding the prevention of confirmed infections, the efficacy was 46% and 92%, respectively. The study could not determine whether the vaccine can prevent the spread of the virus, although the reduction in the number of infections has given researchers hope that it could be.
The researchers found that the drug worked just as well in young people as it did in people over 70. A total of 41 people died from complications from COVID-19, but only nine were in the vaccinated group.
The Clalit Research Institute and Ben-Gurion University in the Negev in Israel worked with Harvard University on the study. They included 600,000 people over 16 who were vaccinated in December and January, comparing them to an equal number of people who did not receive the vaccine. None of these participants had tested positive for COVID-19 before the study.
“It’s extremely reassuring… better than I might have guessed,” said Dr Gregory Poland of the Mayo Clinic. Associated press. “Even after a dose, we can see very high efficacy in preventing death,” Dr Buddy Creech of Vanderbilt University told the news site. Neither doctor participated in the Israeli study.
Both doctors agreed that the study provides more evidence to support postponing the second dose so more people can have some protection the first time. Some countries have already changed the vaccination protocol in early 2021. The UK has postponed the second vaccine for up to 12 weeks to cover more people. Pfizer / BioNTech doses are supposed to be given three weeks apart, according to the protocol for the Phase 3 trial.
Another idea for stretching the supply is to give COVID-19 survivors just one dose instead of two. France is already doing it, notes the report. At least four studies have concluded that a single dose is sufficient to boost the immune response in COVID-19 survivors to the same level as two doses.
Another major advantage of the study is that it was conducted when the B.1.1.7 variant became dominant in Israel. Therefore, the different levels of efficacy observed by the researchers indicate that the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine works well against this particular strain. The study could also help influence those undecided about getting vaccinated, as a story that vaccine-hesitant people often cite is that Phase 3 trials were limited. The Israeli lawsuit has just addressed these concerns, given its scope.
The full study is available on this link.
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Chris Smith started writing about gadgets as a hobby, and before he even knew it he was sharing his take on tech with readers around the world. Whenever he doesn’t write about gadgets, he miserably fails to walk away from them, although he desperately tries. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
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