Data from Israel: vaccination less effective since Delta variant

According to the Ministry of Health, the effectiveness of the BioNTech vaccine in Israel has decreased because of the Delta variant: it only prevents 64 percent of infection. The protection against severe courses is high.

According to data from the Israeli Ministry of Health, the effectiveness of the BioNTech / Pfizer vaccination in the country has decreased significantly in recent weeks. At the same time, the more aggressive Delta variant of the corona virus has spread, the ministry said.

Since June 6, the effectiveness of the vaccine in preventing infection has fallen to 64 percent. This is also the case when preventing a disease with symptoms. However, the vaccination protects very well against serious illness and hospital stays – namely 93 percent.

The ministry pointed out that the data situation is still limited and the study is preliminary. Nevertheless, the significant deviation from earlier information is striking. In February, the Israeli Ministry of Health announced that the vaccine from BionNTech / Pfizer prevented corona disease by 95.8 percent. The occurrence of symptoms such as fever and breathing difficulties are prevented by 98 percent and around 99 percent of hospital stays, serious illnesses and death.

Increasing number of new infections

Israel has good data because of the high vaccination rate. In the country, the number of registered new corona infections has been increasing significantly for around two weeks. According to the Ministry of Health, 334 people tested positive on Sunday. Most recently, more than 300 new infections were detected in one day at the beginning of April. However, no death related to the virus has been registered for around two weeks.

Most of the new infections are related to the Delta variant, which was first detected in India. Many of those infected are younger people. About 50 percent of those infected are vaccinated.

The country had practically lifted all corona rules weeks ago. In view of the increasing numbers, doctors are now debating how to proceed. Some demand stricter rules and not just the mask requirement indoors, which applies again but is rarely followed. Other experts warn against panic and point to the occupancy of the intensive care units with Covid patients: The number is still very low in Israel.

British study: High protection against severe disease

So far, there have been mainly British studies on the effectiveness of vaccines against the Delta variant. A data analysis presented by the government in London in June also came to the conclusion that complete vaccination protection with two doses of the agents from BioNTech / Pfizer or AstraZeneca prevented severe disease progression very well. The public health authority in England (PHE) announced that the effectiveness was roughly as high as that of the alpha variant that had previously dominated. The risk of hospitalization was reduced by more than 90 percent for the fully vaccinated compared to that of the unvaccinated.

Citing data from the United Kingdom, the Standing Vaccination Commission in Germany recently stated that the protection against severe disease courses by Delta is similarly good after a full vaccination compared to the protection against other corona variants.