A study from the Israeli Sheba hospital, released this Friday and published in the scientific journal The Lancet, shows that the first dose of the vaccine produced by Pfizer reduces COVID-19 infections by 75% between 15 and 28 days after its administration, and it also reduces the number of people with symptoms of the disease by 85%. The study is the first in Israel, and one of the first in the world, on the efficacy of the first dose of Pfizer’s vaccine, which has been measured based on a sample of approximately 7,000 workers at the medical center where it was performed. performed. The results showed a low efficacy of the first dose in the first two weeks after its administration, but a high efficacy after the first 14 days.
According to scientific work, the data allow us to conclude that it is possible to delay the administration of the second dose in countries with a shortage of vaccines so that more people can be inoculated. However, its authors emphasize that more testing is necessary, especially focused on the duration of effect of a single dose, before deciding whether a single dose policy is recommended. “What we show is that a significant level of vaccination can be achieved even with a single dose,” Arnon Afek, director of the Sheba hospital and one of the authors of the study, explained to local News Agency.
The data used was collected from the health workers of this health center, who began their vaccination process as of December 19. “This is the first study to evaluate the efficacy of a single dose of the vaccine under real conditions and shows early efficacy, even before the second dose was administered,” explains Professor Eyal Leshem, director of the Center for Medicine. of the Traveler and Tropical Diseases of Sheba and another of the authors of the study. As of January 24, 2021, of the 9,109 eligible staff members, 7,214 (79%) had received the first dose and 6,037 (66%) had received the second dose. Up to 5,505 (91%) fully vaccinated healthcare workers received the second dose on days 21 or 22 after the first dose.
Overall, there were 170 SARS-CoV-2 infections among healthcare providers in the period from December 19, 2020, to January 24, 2021, of which 99 (58%) reported symptoms and were designated as cases. COVID-19. Of the 170 healthcare workers who became infected, 89 (52%) were unvaccinated, 78 (46%) tested positive after the first dose, and three (2%) tested positive after the second dose. The country that leads the world in vaccination
Israel is by far the country in the world that has advanced the most in the COVID vaccination campaign among its almost nine million inhabitants. According to the latest available data, relative to Wednesday, February 17, it has already administered 79.5 doses per 100 inhabitants, with almost 32% of its population fully immunized with the two doses of Pfizer. Spain, for example, in line with most of the European Union countries, has only administered 5.8 doses per 100 inhabitants, and only 2.39% of its population has received full immunization. The data refer to February 16 and are the latest available.
