An Israeli health worker from Maccabi Healthcare Services prepares to administer a dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine on February 24, 2021 in Tel Aviv.
Jack Guez | AFP | Getty images
The coronavirus variant first discovered in South Africa may bypass some of the protection offered by the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, according to a new Israeli study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed.
Researchers from Tel Aviv University and Clalit, the largest health care organization in Israel, examined nearly 400 people who tested positive for Covid-19 after receiving at least one dose of the vaccine. They compared them to the same number of people who were infected and unvaccinated.
The researchers found that the prevalence of the South African variant, known as B.1.351, was about eight times higher in patients who received two doses of the vaccine than in unvaccinated patients. The data, published online over the weekend, suggests the B.1.351 is better able to “break through” vaccine protection than the original strain, the researchers wrote in the study.
“Based on patterns in the general population, we expected only one case of the South African variant, but we saw eight,” Professor Adi Stern, who led the study, told The Times of Israel. “We can say it is less effective, but more research is needed to determine exactly how much.”
CNBC has contacted Pfizer for comment on the investigation.
The new data comes as public health officials worry that highly contagious variants, which studies have shown could reduce the effectiveness of vaccines, could slow the world’s progress on the pandemic.
Last month, CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky issued a dire warning, telling reporters she was concerned that the United States faces “imminent doom” as variants spread and daily Covid-19 cases begin to recover, and more people threaten to move to the United States States to send. Hopital.
“I’m going to take a break here, I’m going to lose the script and I’m going to think about the recurring feeling I have of impending doom,” she said on March 29. “We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential from where we are and so much reason for hope, but right now I’m scared.”
Israel launched its national vaccination campaign in December, prioritizing people over 60, health workers and those with comorbid conditions. In February it was the world leader in vaccinations, vaccinating millions of citizens against the virus.
In January, Pfizer and the Israeli Ministry of Health entered into a partnership agreement to monitor the real impact of their vaccine.
The researchers noted that the main caveat of the study was the same sample size. B.1.351 made up only about 1% of all Covid-19 cases, they said. B.1.1.7, the variant first identified in the UK, is more common.
As variants spread, drug makers said they were testing whether a third dose would provide more protection.
In February, Pfizer and BioNTech said they were testing a third dose of their Covid-19 vaccine to better understand the immune response against new variants of the virus.