An Israeli study among 523,000 people who received both doses of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine found, according to a report, that there were no deaths.
The study by Maccabi Healthcare Services, cited in The Times of Israel, also found that only 544 vaccines contracted the virus, with only four serious cases.
The newspaper tagged the news with a headline: “It works.”
And Dr Miri Mizrahi Reuveni quoted: “These data unequivocally prove that the vaccine is very effective and we have no doubt that it saved the lives of many Israelites.”
The news is also welcome, given the current lack of evidence of vaccine vaccination to prevent COVID-19 infections and deaths.
Israel is by far the world leader when it comes to the rate at which vaccines are being rolled out.
According to Oxford University’s respected website, Our World in Data, Israel administered 69.46 doses per 100,000 people as of Wednesday.
Israel’s implementation of vaccinations compared to other countries is shown in the graph below.
The Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine is one of two samples currently being released in the UK.
The other approved vaccine is the Oxford / AstraZeneca jab, which has raised questions about its effectiveness against the South African variant of the virus.
Look: People aged 65 and over in England can now receive COVID vaccine
However, AstraZeneca said it still offers ‘good protection’ against serious diseases caused by new variants. It was also approved by the WHO on Wednesday for use by all adults.
Meanwhile, NHS England said on Friday that people aged 65 to 69 could now have a COVID vaccine in England if GPs did everything in their power to reach those at higher risk.
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Some parts of England have already started vaccinating those over 65 with their first dose after reaching all of the top four priority groups – including those over 70 and residents of the care home – who wanted a slap in the face have.
Once vaccinated older than 65 years, they will be officially followed by everyone older than 16 with underlying health conditions, then the older than 60, the older than 55 and the older than 50.
See: What you can and cannot do during England’s third national exclusion