Israeli data indicate high efficacy of Pfizer’s third vaccine.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JERUSALEM — The Israeli Ministry of Health claimed that the third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine increased immunity protection tenfold against infection on Thursday (16/9). The ministry stated that a new Israeli study, published in New England Journal of Medicine, test third dose effectiveness among those aged 60 years and over who received the third vaccine in August.
That’s tenfold protection compared to those who received only two doses at least five months ago. The study was carried out by a multidisciplinary research team from the Israeli Ministry of Health, namely the Weizmann Institute of Science, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Technion, Sheba Medical Center, and the IP Research Institute.
“Israeli data indicate the high efficacy of Pfizer’s third vaccine in preventing the infection and severe illness of Covid-19,” the ministry said in a statement.
Israel began vaccinating their population with a third dose on August 1, when the Delta variant spread in Israel and the efficacy of the first two doses of the vaccine faded. To date nearly 3 million Israelis have received the third vaccine.
The researchers found that 12 days after receiving the third vaccine, infection rates were tenfold lower among recipients of the third vaccine than those who did not receive the booster dose.
This means that if the chance of people receiving the second vaccine being infected with the Delta variant is about 50 percent compared to those who are not vaccinated, then the booster dose reduces the risk by 5 percent or increases immune defenses to 95 percent, the researchers concluded.
source: Between
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