Just 4 hard cases among 500,000 donated Pfizer vax in Israel: Report

Jerusalem, February 14 (IANS): The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine was 93 percent effective in protecting against the virus, said Israel’s leading healthcare provider that has vaccinated half a million people with both doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

According to the healthcare provider, only 544 people – or 0.1 percent – have been diagnosed with the Covid-19, there have been four severe cases and no deaths. Covid-19 is believed to be fully protected for people who have been vaccinated in a week after the second sight, so Maccabi data covers all members present at seven days or more after receiving that second dose, reports The Times of Israel.

Maccabi statistics are closely monitored worldwide, to provide first-hand insights on how the vaccine performs outside of clinical trials. And they are widely called upon to show that global efficacy is close to the 95 percent efficacy that was called for after Pfizer’s clinical trials, the report said.

“These data vaguely confirm that the vaccine is very effective and we have no doubt that it has saved the lives of many Israelis,” said Miri Mizrahi Reuveni, Maccabi ‘s chief executive. after the new data release. She confirmed that among those who have been vaccinated and contracted the disease, the majority have acquired the coronavirus mildly.

Of the 523,000 people vaccinated in total, 544 were infected with Covid-19, and only 15 required hospitalization – eight in a critical condition, three in a moderate condition and four in poor condition.

Source