According to a new assessment from Israel’s Health Ministry, the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech is only 39% effective in Israel.
In Israel, the delta form is the dominant strain, yet the vaccines still give excellent protection against severe sickness and hospitalization.
The finding, which is based on an undefined number of persons between June 20 and July 17, is down from a previous estimate of 64 percent two weeks ago and contradicts data from the United Kingdom which found the shot to be 88 percent effective against symptomatic sickness.
However, the two-dose vaccine still works very well in preventing people from getting seriously sick, demonstrating 88% effectiveness against hospitalization and 91% effectiveness against severe illness, according to the Israeli data published Thursday.
However, the two-dose vaccine still works very well in preventing people from getting seriously sick, demonstrating 88% effectiveness against hospitalization and 91% effectiveness against severe illness, according to the Israeli data published Thursday.
White House chief medical officer Dr. Anthony Fauci said fully vaccinated people might want to consider wearing masks indoors as a precaution against the rapidly spreading variant in the U.S.
Health experts are concerned about the fall season when delta is expected to hit states with the lowest vaccination rates the hardest — unless those states and businesses reintroduce mask rules, capacity limits, and other public health measures that they’ve largely rolled back.
