The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for Covid-19 appears to reduce symptomatic coronavirus infections by more than 90% in the real world, Israeli researchers said.
The findings, though preliminary, suggest that the vaccine remains extremely effective in a mass vaccination campaign. The Clalit Research Institute, part of a large Israeli health system, analyzed data on 1.2 million people, about half of whom had received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The researchers compared patients who received the vaccine with similar individuals who did not.
The symptomatic Covid-19 rate - meaning people who were infected with the coronavirus and felt ill - dropped by 94% among people who received two doses of the vaccine, according to a press release from Clal. The rate of serious illness decreased by 92%.
The full details of the study have not yet been reviewed by colleagues. However, the findings are consistent with data from the Pfizer vaccine trial itself, which found that the vaccine was 95% effective.
"The assertion is really important," Dr told CNN. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and professor at the George Washington University School of Public Health.
