JERUSALEM (Reuters) – The world’s first major independently reviewed Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine shows the bullet is very effective in preventing COVID-19 , at a time that could be very important for countries that want to end locks and reopen economies.
To date, most data on the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines have come under controlled conditions in clinical trials, leaving an element of uncertainty as to how results would translate into reality. world with its invisible variables.
The Israeli research – two months into one of the fastest releases in the world, providing a rich database – showed two measurements of the Pfizer cases cut by COVID-19 symbolic cases by 94 % across all age groups, and near-actual illnesses.
The study of about 1.2 million people also showed that one picture was 57% effective in protecting against symptomatic diseases after two weeks, according to data published and peer-reviewed in the New England Journal of Medicine Wednesday.
The results of the study for the Clalit Research Institute were close to those in clinical trials last year which found that two doses were to be 95% effective.
“We were surprised because we expected that, in a real world situation, where the cold spell is not perfectly maintained and the population is older and sicker, you will not get the best results. you got in the controlled clinical trials, “study author Ran Balicer told Reuters. “But we did and the vaccine also worked in the real world.”
“We have shown that the vaccine is so effective in very different subgroups, in the young and the elderly in those with no co-infections and in those with few. co-infections, ”he said.
The study also suggests that the vaccine, developed by US drugmaker Pfizer and German manufacturer BioNTech, is effective against the coronavirus version first identified in the UK. Researchers said they could not provide a specific level of efficacy, but that the variant was the strongest version of the virus in Israel at the time of the study.
The research did not shed light on how the Pfizer pill can be successfully compared to another variant, now controlled in South Africa, which has been shown to reduce the effectiveness of other vaccines.
Of the nine million people in Israel, a country with universal healthcare, nearly half have received their first dose, and a third have received both doses since the outbreak began in December. 19.
This made the country a prime location for a real-world study of the vaccine’s ability to stop the pandemic, along with its advanced data capabilities.
The study surveyed about 600,000 vaccinated people against the same control group of unvaccinated people. Researchers at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Harvard School of Medicine and Boston Children’s Hospital collaborated.
“This is very good news, confirming that the vaccine is approximately 90% effective in preventing a recorded infection of any degree from 7 days after the second dose,” he said. Peter English, British government adviser in infectious disease control.
“Recently reviewed papers from Israel were speculative studies. This one used an experimental design called a case-control study … giving more confidence that there are differences between the groups because of the status quo. vaccination, and not for some other reason. “
The study published Wednesday was the first peer-reviewed national COVID-19 vaccine strategy. A more detailed view is also offered of how the vaccine was fished at weekly intervals, while it matched those who received the bullet to non-vaccinated people with medical history, sex, age and sexual characteristics. cognitive.
Other research centers in Israel, including the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Israel Institute of Technology have shared several studies in recent weeks that show the vaccine is effective.
At least three studies out of Israel have also suggested that the vaccine may reduce coronavirus transmission, but the researchers have warned that more extensive studies are needed to establish clear conclusions.
The latest data from the Weizmann Institute shows a sharp drop in illness – which began this month with the first age group to receive the vaccine, people over 60 – has now expanded to two outpatient groups. thereafter to complete both doses.
As diseases have fallen in Israel, the country has reduced its third national lockout and reopened its economy including malls, shops, schools and many workplaces in the past two weeks passed.
Recreation centers such as theaters, gyms and hotels opened on Sunday, but are only open to those deemed safe – “Green Pass” keepers, a health ministry document available for downloaded by humans only seven days after their second dose or by people recovering from COVID-19.
On Wednesday, Tel Aviv held one of the first live shows in the country after months of gatherings banned under coronavirus restrictions.
“This is so exciting, we’re so happy to be here today. It’s incredible after one year of living at home, it’s great to be out and about to see some culture,” said Gabi Shamir, 60, as she took her chair at the outdoor show.
However, the effectiveness of the vaccine does not mean that the country will soon be free of pandemic. As elsewhere in the world, a large proportion of the population under the age of 16 – around a third in Israel – means they can still not be vaccinated because clinical trial results have not been forthcoming. there for children.
“This is not the end of the pandemic,” said Eran Kopel, an epidemiologist at Tel Aviv University. “As soon as there is a safe vaccination for children in Israel and around the world we can then start saying that we could get close to herd protection.”