Epidemiology expert says he does not know if there is another such virus in which “the vaccine will protect better than infection with the disease itself.”
By Aryeh Savir, TPS
The level of antibodies that the Pfizer-developed Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine produces is higher than that found in those who contracted the virus and their bodies produced it naturally, the Israeli Health Ministry has found.
Appearing before the Knesset’s Constitution Committee on Monday, Dr. Roy Singer, Deputy Director of the Department of Epidemiology at the Ministry of Health, said that he does not know if there is another such virus in which “the vaccine will protect better than infection with the disease itself.”
Pfizer and its collaborator, BioNTech, announced that the vaccine was found to be more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 in participants without evidence of prior SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first interim efficacy analysis.
The Ministry of Health updated Monday morning over 2,116,257 Israelis have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, some 23.8% of the population.
Some 152,000 people were vaccinated on Sunday, 72,000 received the first dose, and 80,000 the second dose.
Pfizer has shipped millions of doses to the country, which has essentially turned into a massive testing ground for its vaccine.
The Health Ministry has agreed to share data from its vaccinations operation with Pfizer.