Israeli study finds Pfizer vaccine only 64 percent effective against Delta variant, but remains highly effective at preventing serious illness and hospitalization.
However, the study found that the vaccine remains highly effective against preventing serious symptoms and hospitalization associated with the coronavirus. In May, that figure stood at 98.2 percent, while it was 93 percent in June.
The Delta variant, also known as B.1.617.2, is more contagious than other strains of COVID-19 and is thought to be responsible for 90 percent of new cases in Israel over the past two weeks,reported. The country's health ministry said Monday that 369 people had been diagnosed with coronavirus that day, bringing the total number of active cases in the country to 2,766.
In response to a rise in new cases, the Israeli government instructed the health ministry to promote two medical studies regarding the need for a third COVID-19 vaccine shot. According to Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's office, the studies will seek to"evaluate the efficacy of the vaccine and the rate at which it wears off over time."
Israel's Ministry of Health said Monday that the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine appears to be less effective against the fast-spreading Delta variant. Here, an Israeli medical worker prepares a dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine on July 5, 2021, in Tel Aviv.