Pfizer first dose 85% effective after 2-4 weeks, says study | Inquirer News

Pfizer first dose 85% effective after 2-4 weeks, says study

/ 08:06 PM February 19, 2021

Pfizer first dose 85% effective after 2-4 weeks, says study

(FILES) This file photo illustration taken on November 23, 2020, shows a syringe and a bottle reading “COVID-19 Vaccine” next to the Pfizer company logo. (Photo by JOEL SAGET / AFP FILE)

JERUSALEM — The first dose of the Pfizer vaccination is 85 percent effective against coronavirus infection between two and four weeks after inoculation, according to a study published in the Lancet medical journal.

The survey was carried out on healthcare workers at the largest hospital in Israel, which on December 19 launched a mass vaccination campaign regarded as the world’s fastest.

Article continues after this advertisement

Israeli studies have found the Pfizer vaccine to be 95 percent effective one week after a second jab, while the Lancet report focused on more than 9,000 medical staff at Sheba hospital near Tel Aviv.

FEATURED STORIES

Some 7,000 of them received the first dose and the rest were not inoculated.

From the group, 170 were diagnosed with Covid-19 after tests carried out only on those showing symptoms or who had been in contact with coronavirus carriers.

Article continues after this advertisement

Fifty-two percent of them were found to have not been vaccinated.

Article continues after this advertisement

Comparing the two groups, the Sheba study calculated that the vaccine was 47 percent effective between one and 14 days after inoculation, rising to 85 percent after 15 to 28 days.

Article continues after this advertisement

“What we see is a really high effectiveness already right after two weeks, between two weeks to four weeks after vaccine, already high effectiveness of 85 percent reduction of symptomatic infection,” Gili Regev-Yochay, co-author of the study, told a small group of journalists.

He said that despite the vaccine being “amazingly effective”, scientists are still studying whether fully vaccinated people can transmit the virus to others.

Article continues after this advertisement

“That is the big, big, question. We are working on it. This is not on this paper and I hope we will have some good news soon,” said Regev-Yochay.

Israel has delivered a shot of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to 4.23 million residents, or 47 percent of its nine million population, 2.85 million of whom have received the recommended full course of two jabs, latest health ministry figures show.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

For more news about the novel coronavirus click here.
What you need to know about Coronavirus.
For more information on COVID-19, call the DOH Hotline: (02) 86517800 local 1149/1150.

The Inquirer Foundation supports our healthcare frontliners and is still accepting cash donations to be deposited at Banco de Oro (BDO) current account #007960018860 or donate through PayMaya using this link.

TAGS: Coronavirus, COVID-19, Health, Israel, Pfizer, SARS-CoV-2, vaccine, Virus

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

© Copyright 1997-2024 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

This is an information message

We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more here.