PANDEMIC: In Israel, 2.4 million people have already received their second dose of the vaccine, and the country hopes to have vaccinated its entire population by the end of March.
Against the coronavirus epidemic, Israel has bet since mid-December on a massive vaccination campaign. A study carried out on a million people vaccinated shows the efficacy of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine of 94%.
According to insurer Clalit, its researchers tested 600,000 people who received the two recommended doses of the vaccine and an equivalent number of people who did not receive an injection. “There was a 94% reduction in the symptomatic infection rate and a 92% drop in the severe disease rate, compared to 600,000 similar (subjects) who had not been vaccinated,” the insurer reported in a press release. Hebrew. “The efficacy of the vaccine is maintained in all age groups, including those over 70,” he says.
Preliminary results
Since mid-December, thanks to an agreement with the American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer to share its digitized medical data on the effectiveness of the vaccine, Israel has vaccinated more than 3.8 million people, including 2.4 million received their second dose. The country of nine million inhabitants started the release of its third confinement a week ago and intends to vaccinate its entire population over 16 years old by the end of March.
“The publication of preliminary results at this point is intended to emphasize to the unvaccinated population that the vaccine is very effective and prevents severe morbidity,” says Clalit. The insurer specifies that the study has so far been carried out on people at least seven days after they have received their second injection and will be extended thereafter. “Each new week that passes will allow us to make the assessment more precise. ”
Israel has so far only administered the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to its population, although it has a small stock of the vaccine from the American biotechnology company Moderna. Israel has officially recorded 723,038 cases of Covid-19, including 5,368 deaths.
