Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech announced on Thursday morning that real-world evidence from the Israeli Ministry of Health shows that there has been “significantly” fewer Covid-19 cases and human deaths. the Israelis who received full vaccination with the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine compared to those who did not.
The latest analysis from the Israeli Ministry of Health is based on data collected between Jan. March 17 and 6, as announced. During that period, the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine was the only Covid-19 vaccine available in the country and the coronavirus variant was B.1.1.7, which was first identified in the United Kingdom.
According to Pfizer and BioNTech, the latest analysis from the Israeli Ministry of Health shows that, two weeks after the second dose, vaccination was at least 97% effective in preventing symptomatic disease, hospitalization, and death. The analysis also found that vaccine efficacy was 94% effective in preventing asymptomatic Covid-19, where diseases do not show symptoms.
“We are very confident that the real-world efficacy data coming from Israel confirms the high efficacy demonstrated in our Phase 3 clinical trial and demonstrates the significant impact of the vaccine. preventing serious infections and deaths due to COVID-19, “Luis Jodar, senior vice president and chief medical officer at Pfizer Vaccines, said in the news.
“The findings that indicate that the vaccine may provide protection against asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections are particularly significant as we look to reduce the spread of the virus. all over the world, “Jodar said.
SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the virus that causes Covid-19.
The news comes about two weeks after a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the risk of Covid-19 symptom – meaning people who were infected with the coronavirus and feeling unwell – down 94% among those who received two doses of the vaccine. Even before the second dose, the effectiveness of the vaccine was almost 60%.
“This clearly demonstrates the power of the COVID-19 vaccine to fight this virus and encourages us to continue our vaccination campaign even more vigorously. We are aiming for even higher uptake. the people of all ages, which will give us hope of a normal economic recovery and social activity in the not-too-distant future, “Yeheskel Levy, director of the Israeli Ministry of Health, said in the news.
“When we began our development last January, our aim was to make a difference to people around the world and help end this pandemic,” he said. Dr. Ugur Sahin, co-founder and CEO of BioNTech, said in the news. “One year after the WHO announced a pandemic, we now see that we are on the right track to our -from objectives. “
Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, said data from Israel showing the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine prevents asymptomatic infection and death is a message of hope a year on from the outbreak of a pandemic.
“It’s a great opportunity, I think, on this day of the first anniversary of the announcement of a pandemic, we have a message of hope,” Bourla told CNBC’s Meg Tirrell on Squawk Box.
Bourla explained that the data comes from a country where more than 55% of the total population has been vaccinated.
Efficacy to date in Israel is at 97%, saying “the three measures, mild disease, hospitals and deaths north of 97% are in real efficiency in the world with millions of people vaccinated.”
Perhaps most importantly of all, he said, it seemed to be 94% effective against asymptomatic transmission.
Bourla said this is important to society, “because the asymptomatic carriers, the asymptomatic patients are the ones that spread the disease in the main.”
“This is the first time we come up with proof of a world-class evidence study of that magnitude,” he said.