Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine 97 per cent effective against symptomatic coronavirus: Israeli study

Name: After vaccinating over 40% of its population, Israel starts reopening businesses and airport
Uploaded: 2021-03-11T13:43:46.000Z
Duration: 2 min 37 s
Description: After vaccinating over 40% of its population, Israel starts reopening businesses and airport

The companies said real-world data from Israel suggests prevention against asymptomatic disease also reached 94 per cent

According to the findings, unvaccinated individuals were 44 times more likely to develop symptomatic Covid-19 than those who had received the jab

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Reuters

Published: 9:43pm, 11 Mar 2021Updated: 9:43pm, 11 Mar 2021

Pfizer and BioNTech said on Wednesday that real-world data from Israel suggests that their Covid-19 vaccine is 94 per cent effective in preventing asymptomatic infections, meaning the vaccine could significantly reduce transmission.

The companies also said the latest analysis of the Israeli data shows the vaccine was 97 per cent effective in preventing symptomatic disease, severe disease and death.

That is basically in line with the 95 per cent efficacy Pfizer and BioNTech reported from the vaccine’s late-stage clinical trial in December.

The analysis also shows real-world evidence of the vaccine’s effectiveness against a highly infectious variant of Covid-19 first discovered in Britain, known as B.1.1.7. More than 80 per cent of the tested specimens when the analysis was conducted were variant B.1.1.7.

There was only a limited number of infections in Israel caused by the so-called South African variant – known as B. 1.351 – so they were not able to evaluate vaccine effectiveness against this strain.

Israel is leading the world in its vaccination roll out, due in part to an agreement to share data with Pfizer and BioNTech.

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After vaccinating over 40% of its population, Israel starts reopening businesses and airport

As of Wednesday, around 55 per cent of its 9 million population had been given at least one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, according to Health Ministry data, and 43 per cent have received both doses.