JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine significantly reduces virus spread, two Israeli studies have found, shedding light on one of the biggest questions of the global effort to fight the pandemic deleted.
Analysis of data in a study by the Israeli Ministry of Health and Pfizer Inc found that the Pfizer vaccine developed by BioNTech in Germany reduced infectivity, including in asymptomatic cases, by 89.4% and in the syptomatic cases by 93.7%.
The results of the pre-published study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, but based on a national database that is among the most advanced in the world, were first reported by the Israeli news site Ynet late Thursday and was obtained by Reuters on Friday.
Pfizer declined to comment and the Israeli Ministry of Health did not respond to a request for comment.
A separate study by Sheba Israel Medical Center published Friday in Lancet medical journal found that among 7,214 hospital staff who received their first dose in January, an 85% reduction in COVID-19 was typical within 15 to 28 days with an overall reduction of diseases, including asymptomatic cases detected by test, of 75%.
More research is needed to draw a definitive conclusion, but the studies are among the first to suggest that vaccination may stop the spread of the novel coronavirus and not just to prevent it. people being sick.
Michal Linial, professor of molecular biology and bioinformatics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said the findings were a major step toward one of the most important issues in fighting the pandemic.
“Whether it’s a 75 or 90 percent reduction doesn’t matter – it’s a big reduction in distribution,” Linial said. “It means that not only is the individual vaccine protected, inoculation also protects those around it. “
The researchers said more research was needed on asymptomatic transmission among people with full vaccines because they are less likely to be tested for COVID-19.
Vaccine developers have also said that more research was needed into transmission potential. In December, BioNTech of Germany said it would take an additional three to six months of investigation.
‘DYNAMIC VIRUS’
Leading the world in vaccine distribution, Israel’s universal healthcare and advanced data capabilities have provided a nationwide database that gives us an insight into the effectiveness of vaccines alongside outside controlled clinical trials.
The Ministry of Health / Pfizer study analyzed data collected between Jan. 17 and Feb. 6, looking at individuals who have been fully vaccinated, after receiving a second Pfizer view.
So far more than 30%, or 2.8 million of Israel’s nine million people have received both measurements.
Sheba’s study found that only the first dose of Pfizer vaccine is 85% effective, which may spark debate about the proposed two-dose regimen.
Researchers from Canada suggested in a letter published this week that the second dose of Pfizer be delayed due to the high level of protection at first glance to reduce the number of people receiving the increase vaccination.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in December data from these tests showed the vaccine began to provide some protection to recipients before they received a second look, but more data would be needed to enable one- assess dose.
Pfizer has stated that other dosing methods of the vaccine have not yet been evaluated and the decision remained with the health authorities.
Another caveat is that the group examined at the hospital was “relatively young and healthy,” said Sheba epidemiologist Gili Regev-Yochay.
Unlike Pfizer’s clinical trial, “we don’t have many (employees) here older than 65,” she told reporters. But she also said that Sheba was investigated at the time of a surgeon in coronavirus diseases in Israel, which flooded hospitals with new cases.
Pfizer declined to comment on the data, saying in a statement that it was conducting its own study of “the real-world effectiveness of the vaccine in several parts of the world, including Israel”.
Both studies compared the overall efficacy compared to approximately 95% in a two-dose two-day regimen 21 days apart. Ministry of Health / Pfizer researchers found that the vaccine was effective against the British coronavirus version that makes up about 80% of confirmed Israeli cases.
Eran Kopel, an epidemiologist at Tel Aviv University, said Sheba’s study was important, but it focused on one hospital and a relatively small group of people, so “one could not cut off epidemiological conclusions from it” .
Ministry of Health data was encouraging, he said, but further research and regular inspections were needed.
“Vaccines are a great tool but this is the end. This is a dynamic virus that has shocked the scientific world with the rapid pace of change and mixing, ”he said.
Additional statement by Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Edited by Jane Merriman and Barbara Lewis