Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine is 95.8% effective, Israeli study finds

Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine is 95.8% effective, Israeli study finds
Credit: Belga

Israel’s Health Ministry said on Saturday that the two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine were 95.8% effective against infection by the new coronavirus (Covid-19).

A massive vaccination campaign launched on 19 December by the Israeli Government and considered one of the world’s fastest is being conducted under an agreement with Pfizer that allows Israel to obtain millions of doses of the vaccine in exchange for biomedical data on its effect.

So far, 4.25 million out of the nine million Israelis have received a first dose of the vaccine, according to the latest figures from the Health Ministry. Of these, 2.88 million have also received the required second dose.

According to the ministry, the vaccine has proven to be 95.8% effective in preventing Covid-19 infection two weeks after the second dose. It is also 99.2% effective in preventing severe forms of the illness that require hospitalisation, and 98.9% effective when it comes to preventing death.

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The data, compiled up to 13 February, further shows that vaccination is effective one week after the second dose is administered. By then it is 91.9% effective in shielding the injected person from contracting the virus, 96.4% effective in preventing the need for hospitalisation, and 94.5% effective in preventing death from COVID-19.

The Director-General of the Health Ministry, Prof. Chezy Levy, said in a press release that the aim is to vaccinate all Israelis aged 16 and over, which would allow the country to return to normal life.

Since the start of the pandemic, Israel has had over 744,000 cases of Covid-19, with 5,500 persons dying as a result, according to official data.

The Brussels Times


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