Israeli Study Finds 94 Percent Drop in Symptomatic COVID-19 Cases With Pfizer Vaccine

Reuters reports that Clalit, Israel's biggest healthcare provider, has recorded a 94 percent drop in symptomatic COVID-19 infections among 600,000 people who received two doses of Pfizer's vaccine in that nation's largest study so far. The same group was also 92 percent less likely to develop severe illness from the virus. Ran Balicer, Clalit's chief innovation officer, observes, "It shows unequivocally that Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine is extremely effective in the real world a week after the second dose, just as it was found to be in the clinical study." The Weizmann Institute of Science further announced on Sunday that a sharp decline in hospitalization and serious illness identified earlier among the first age group to be vaccinated — those 60 and older — was seen for the first time in those aged 55 and older. Israel has been conducting a rapid vaccine rollout, and its database offers valuable insights into vaccine effectiveness and at what point countries might exhibit herd immunity.