A teenager receives a vaccination against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Tel Aviv, Israel, January 24, 2021. REUTERS / Ronen Zvulun
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel has recorded eight cases of a coronavirus variant first identified in India and believes the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine is at least partially effective against it, an Israeli health official said Tuesday.
An initial seven cases of the Indian variant were discovered in Israel last week among people who came from abroad and who have since undergone preliminary testing, the Ministry of Health said.
“The impression is that the Pfizer vaccine is effective against it, albeit to a lesser extent,” the ministry director general Hezi Levy told Kan public radio, saying the number of cases of the variant in Israel now stands at eight.
The ministry did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for more details about the investigation into the Indian variant.
The new variant, called B.1.617, was reported by the Indian Ministry of Health at the end of March (https://bit.ly/3tzfy0p). It contains an E484K mutation, which has been linked to immune escape by other variants, and another mutation known as L425R, which can increase its transmissibility.
Great Britain and Ireland have also said they are investigating the variant after discovering it within their borders.
Israel, with a population of 9.3 million, has approximately 81% of its citizens or residents over 16 years of age fully vaccinated. COVID-19 infections and hospital admissions have fallen sharply.
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