The pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and BioNTech announced on Thursday morning that real-world evidence from the Israel Ministry of Health show that there have been “dramatically” fewer Covid-19 cases and deaths among people in Israel who have been fully vaccinated with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine compared with those who have been not vaccinated.
The latest analysis from the Israel Ministry of Health is based on data collected between Jan. 17 and March 6, according to the announcement. During that time, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was the only Covid-19 vaccine available in the country and the coronavirus variant B.1.1.7, which was first identified in the United Kingdom, was dominant.
According to Pfizer and BioNTech’s announcement, the latest analysis from the Israel Ministry of Health shows that two weeks after the second dose, vaccine effectiveness was at least 97% in preventing symptomatic disease, hospitalizations and death. The analysis also found that the vaccine effectiveness was 94% in preventing asymptomatic Covid-19, where infections show no symptoms
“We are extremely encouraged that the real-world effectiveness data coming from Israel are confirming the high efficacy demonstrated in our Phase 3 clinical trial and showing the significant impact of the vaccine in preventing severe disease and deaths due to COVID-19,” Luis Jodar, senior vice president and chief medical officer at Pfizer Vaccines, said in the announcement.
