Israeli health officials on Thursday reported that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine is just 39 percent effective in preventing infections with the more contagious Delta variant, while noting that the vaccine remains highly effective in preventing serious illness and hospitalization, according to reports.
New statistics from Israel’s Health Ministry, released Thursday, indicated that the vaccine jointly developed by Pfizer and BioNTech provided 88 percent protection against hospitalization and 91.4 percent against severe illness, while being just 39 percent effective against the Delta strain, Bloomberg reported.
The figures are based on a review of an unspecified number of cases logged between June 20 and July 17, according to Israeli news channel i24 News. The outlet reported that the Health Ministry report also indicated waning effectiveness of the vaccine over time, with just 16 percent effectiveness in preventing COVID-19 transmission among those who received the vaccine in January. Effectiveness rose to 44 percent for those who got the shot in February, 67 percent for March, and 75 percent for April.
Still, even for those who received the vaccine in January, its effectiveness at preventing severe illness stood at 86 percent, a level similar to that for people who got the shot more recently, i24 reports.- READ MORE
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