ToplineData from Israel’s health ministry shows Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine significantly less effective at preventing infection and symptomatic illness with the Delta variant than with previous strains of coronavirus, conflicting with existing research that suggests strong protection against the variant—and here’s what might explain the discrepancy. A vial of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine Getty ImagesKey FactsA full course of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 64% effective at preventing infection and 64% at preventing symptomatic Covid-19 caused by the Delta variant, according to preliminary findings from a study by Israel’s health ministry. That’s how effective the Pfizer vaccine is at preventing serious illness and hospitalization after two doses, according to the Israeli study. “When you look at it, that means the vaccine is doing its job really well,” Strain said, given this is the key purpose of a vaccine. Pfizer, citing evidence of waning immunity, is pushing regulators to approve its booster shot (Israel’s regulator recently approved it for immunocompromised individuals).

Source: Forbes July 13, 2021 16:07 UTC