Israeli researchers have claimed that the Coronavirus variant which originated from South Africa evades the protection offered by Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine to a certain degree.
According to a real-world study carried out by the Clalit Health Services (CHS), Israel’s largest state-mandated healthcare provider, and Tel Aviv University, almost 400 people had tested positive for COVID-19 within 14 days or more after receiving either one or two doses of the vaccine.
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The study suggests that Pfizer’s vaccine is less effective against the South African variant in comparison to the original strain of Coronavirus and the one which emerged from the UK.
Adi Stern, Associate Professor at the Tel Aviv University and co-author of the study, has said “the South African variant of COVID-19 is able, to some extent, to break through the Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine’s protection.”
He added the research does not intend to deduce Pfizer’s vaccine overall efficacy against any variant since it only analyzed the medical records of people who had already tested positive for COVID-19 and not the overall infection rates.
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On the other hand, Pfizer has declined to comment on the latest Israeli research.
The New York-based pharmaceutical company reiterated that the Pfizer/BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine is 91% effective at preventing Coronavirus infection.
