Israeli study confirms vaccine efficacy

A large-scale Israeli study has pointed to the efficacy of the PfizerBioNTech vaccine at preventing symptomatic infections with the coronavirus.Clalit, the largest of Israels four health care providers, released a study Sunday that compared infections in 600,000 Israelis who had received the vaccine compared to 600,000 who were not immunised.The study found a 94 per cent drop in symptomatic infections and a 92 per cent drop in serious cases of the disease among those vaccinated.

A large-scale Israeli study has pointed to the efficacy of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at preventing symptomatic infections with the coronavirus.

Clalit, the largest of Israel's four health care providers, released a study Sunday that compared infections in 600,000 Israelis who had received the vaccine compared to 600,000 who were not immunised.

The study found a 94 per cent drop in symptomatic infections and a 92 per cent drop in serious cases of the disease among those vaccinated. It said "the efficacy of the vaccine is preserved in every age group," particularly a week after the second dose of the vaccine.

The researchers said the preliminary findings of the ongoing research "is aimed at emphasizing to the population that has yet to vaccinate that the vaccine is highly effective and prevents serious illness." Israel launched its COVID-19 vaccine campaign in December. Since then, over a quarter of the population - 2.5 million people - have received two doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, and over 42 per cent have received the first shot, according to the Health Ministry.