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A coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech has shown a 94% drop in symptomatic COVID-19, according to new research in Israel. The peer-reviewed results offer a first glimpse of efficacy under real conditions and have shown consistency with a high vaccine efficacy of 95% reported in clinical trials.
The results of the Clalit Research Institute and the efforts of several American universities were published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, from about 1.2 million people in Israel. Half of the group was vaccinated from December to February, and the other half was not, serving as a control group.
A peer-reviewed study of a nation-wide vaccination effort is important to assess the efficacy of the vaccine in real, uncontrolled conditions compared to clinical trials, and to explain the difficulties in maintaining the cold chain, the vaccination schedule and the rollout of the vaccine among many more people in diverse populations, including those with chronic diseases, the researchers wrote. People under the age of 16 have been excluded, although Pfizer is currently conducting clinical trials in the 12-15 age group.
A week after two doses were given, the team documented an 87% efficacy in discontinuing hospitalizations, a 92% reduction in severe illness, and a 92% reduction in efficacy for documented infection, compared with 14 at 20 days after an initial dose of 74%, 62% and 46%, respectively.
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“This study conducted in a national mass vaccination setting suggests that the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine is effective for a wide range of Covid-19-related outcomes, a conclusion consistent with that of the randomized trial,” reads the report. study.
The results also suggested that the vaccine offered the same level of protection to adults over 70 as it did to younger groups. The United States Food and Drug Administration had previously said it could not assess the effectiveness of Pfizer’s vaccine in certain populations at high risk of severe COVID-19, such as people with compromised immunity, or those who were previously infected with SARS-CoV-2.
In a separate note, the researchers said the vaccine is likely effective against a variant of the coronavirus first detected in the UK, called B.1.1.7. Although they could not specify the efficacy of the vaccine against the variant, up to 80% of samples in Israel had the variant before the data was collected, the study authors writing, “the plateau observed in during the last periods of the cumulative incidence curve [on hospitalizations, deaths and more] for those vaccinated suggests that the BNT162b2 vaccine is also effective for this variant. “A distinct variant first detected in South Africa was deemed ‘rare’ during the first vaccination efforts in Israel.
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Israel has been praised for its rapid vaccination efforts and high vaccination rate, with around a third of its population now fully vaccinated.
“These findings reinforce hope that the newly approved vaccines can help mitigate the profound global effects of the Covid-19 pandemic,” the study authors wrote.
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