In one of the biggest real-world studies so far of vaccine effectiveness, Israel’s largest healthcare provider is reporting a 94% drop in symptomatic coronavirus cases among 600,000 people who have been fully vaccinated.
The analysis compares Israelis who have received two doses of the Pfizer-Biontech vaccine with an unvaccinated group of the same size, matched for age and medical history. It reports a result similar to Pfizer’s clinical trials, though the research is preliminary and has yet to be peer reviewed.
The study also seeks to assess how well the vaccine can work against serious illness. Here, the researchers say they believe effectiveness, a week after a second dose, ranges from 91% to 99%. They say a more accurate figure will be available as more time passes after participants’ second jab.
Israel has immunised more than a quarter of its population with two doses. While overall infection rates in the country remain stubbornly high, the number of critically ill over-60s has fallen by a third in recent weeks - the age group were among the first to get jabs from mid to late December.
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Once it starts appearing we have a similar situation over here in regards to transmission the government are REALLY going to struggle to keep telling people how they should be living their lives in terms of what they can do