Symptomatic COVID-19 Cases fell 94% among those Vaccinated with Two Doses in Israel

The largest study conducted so far in Israel, among 1.2 million people, shows a 94% reduction in symptomatic infections among those vaccinated against covid-19.

The study, published this Sunday by Clalit, the country’s main health mutual, compares the effectiveness of the vaccine between 600,000 users who have received the two doses of Pzifer and the same number of people without inoculating.

The analysis also shows a 92% drop in the number of seriously ill people, compared to those who received no dose.

“Previous studies dealt with infections, but not symptoms,” said Ran Balicer, an epidemiologist at Clalit, when Canal 12 Israeli.

The results published so far go corroborating the expectations of effectiveness of the vaccine from the first week after receiving the second dose and show a greater immune response in the following weeks, although this is still preliminary data.

Israel has only used the vaccine so far PziferAlthough it has 100,000 doses of Moderna that it keeps in cold storage.

The country continues to lead the vaccination campaign in the world with more than 2.5 million residents inoculated with two doses, and 3.9 with the first, among a population of about 9 million inhabitants.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured that currently 75% of newly infected people are under 39 years of age, after the campaign has reached the majority of the population over 60 years old.

The researchers said that the preliminary results of the ongoing research “are intended to emphasize to the population that has not yet been vaccinated that the vaccine is very effective and prevents serious diseases.”

Israel launched its COVID-19 vaccination campaign in December. Since then, more than a quarter of the population – 2.5 million people – have received two doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, and more than 42% have received the first, according to the Ministry of Health.