Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine was 93% effective at protecting against COVID-19, a leading Israeli health care provider announced Thursday.
The results seem to show that the shot is working as hoped on a massive sample of people, raising hopes that vaccinations will succeed around the world.
Maccabi Healthcare Services said it had immunized some 520,000 people with both required doses of Pfizer’s injection.
It found that only 544 people subsequently contracted coronavirus seven or more days after receiving their second dose.
Fifteen people were hospitalized and four people were seriously ill, but no one died, according to the Times of Israel, Maccabi said.
Maccabi said it reached its 93% mark by comparing the vaccinated group to a large control group of unvaccinated people.
The age range of the immunized was not clear from the Times of Israel report. Obviously, if there were not as many elderly people – who are more vulnerable to severe COVID-19 – in the sample, the finding is less significant.
“These data unequivocally prove that the vaccine is very effective and we have no doubt that it has saved the lives of many Israelis,” said senior Maccabi official Dr. Miri Mizrahi Reuveni, according to the Times of Israel report.
According to data from Johns Hopkins University, more than 700,000 people have been infected with COVID-19 in Israel and more than 5,000 have been killed.
The Pfizer vaccine has been shown to be 95% effective in protecting against symptomatic coronavirus in clinical studies. Israel is the best example of its real-world achievements so far, as its vaccination program started early and has already reached more than a quarter of its population.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has promised that the entire country will be fully immunized by March.
Israel secured eight million doses of the Pfizer vaccine and six million of Moderna’s advance payments, reportedly double that of European countries to ensure reliable supply.
According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 2.3 million Israelis are fully vaccinated – about 27% of its 9 million residents, a figure higher than anywhere else in the world.
Pfizer is monitoring the Israeli rollout weekly for insights that can be used around the world, including whether it works against more contagious variants, Reuters reported.
So far it has been shown to work against the variant first identified in the UK, but it is less clear for the variant found in South Africa.
“We’ve found the same 90% to 95% efficacy against the British strain so far,” Hezi Levi, director general of Israel’s Ministry of Health told Reuters. “It is too early to say anything about the South African variety.”