Researchers from Bar-Ilan University and Ziv Medical Center have provided initial evidence that people suffering from coronavirus responded positively and strongly to a dose of the Pfizer vaccine, regardless of when they were on the disease and whether they had visible antibodies before inoculated.
The study was conducted on a group of 514 employees at Ziv Medical Center in Safed, 17 of whom were infected with COVID-19 between one and 10 months before receiving the first dose of the vaccine.
2 צפייה בגלריה
Member of medical staff receiving the coronavirus vaccine at Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv
(Photo: yariv katz)
The body’s antibody levels were measured before and after receiving the picture to determine the response to the vaccine.
The response among the former was so effective that it opens up the debate as to whether a dose of the vaccine may be sufficient in certain circumstances.
“This finding can help countries make informed decisions about vaccine policy – for example, whether those who have previously had the vaccine should be given priority and, if so, by how many doses,” he said. Prof. Michael Edelstein from the Faculty of Science at Bar-Ilan University, led the study.
“It is also reassuring that getting visible antibodies after being infected does not mean that post-infection protection is lost,” he says.
However, the researchers stressed that their results should be tested in a larger cohort before reaching definitive conclusions.
The researchers continue to monitor health care workers after their second dose to gain a better understanding of how long the vaccine protects against COVID-19 in different groups of people.
France on Friday recommended that people who have already recovered from Covid-19 receive a single dose of vaccine, becoming the first country to issue such a directive.