Encouraging results have been reported from Israel, where the real-world efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine closely matches that seen in clinical trials.
Israel has engaged in the world’s most aggressive COVID immunisation schedule, with some 30% of its population vaccinated by late January with at least one dose.
Israeli health fund Clalit matched 600 000 vaccinated individuals to an equal number of unvaccinated individuals. Those who were vaccinated experienced a similar rate of positive COVID tests as was observed in clinical trial data, equating to a 94% effectiveness. Crucially, almost no severe cases of COVID were observed in vaccinated individuals. This pattern was also seen in the over-70s age group, which is generally underrepresented in trials.
Public health doctor Prof Hagai Levine said that high vaccination coverage of the most susceptible groups was key. However, he said that he could not give an answer as to what number needed to be vaccinated before containment measures could be eased.
“We still don’t know what the impact is on transmission,” he said. But he added that “the vaccine is useful for personal protection”.
The greatest drop in cases was seen in the over 60s age group, and in areas which had been vaccinated, indicating that this was not the result of lockdown. However, many people still remain unvaccinated, resulting in tens of thousands of cases. Prof Segal noted that the fall in cases was not as rapid as had been hoped, due to the B.1.1.7 or UK strain becoming dominant in Israel.
“We still have to exit our lockdown very cautiously,” he warned, or else hospitalisations would spike again.
The fact that the same rate was observed in clinical trials is important news for other countries, which are watching to see the effects of Israel’s vaccination programme.
Source: BBC News
