Real-world Israeli study shows that SA variant could break through Pfizer vaccine

The Pfizer coronavirus vaccine is slightly less effective against the South African mutation, a new study has shown that raises a red flag among health workers about the need to continue monitoring Israel’s airports to eliminate dangerous mutations keep. The study, conducted by Clalit Health Services and Tel Aviv University, was the first of its kind based on real data. It has been published on MedRxiv and has therefore not yet been peer-reviewed. “The results indicate the need for genetic sequencing and constant monitoring of new variants, as well as the continued implementation of non-pharmaceutical measures,” said Dr. Doron Netzer, head of community medicine at Clalit, said. Lab studies have previously suggested that the South African variant could break through the protection of the Pfizer vaccine, but laboratory studies do not always last in real life. In this case, what was shown in the laboratory also occurred in real life, prof. Adi Stern, from the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research at the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Tel Aviv, said. The Jerusalem Post. The study appears to counteract a report released by Pfizer earlier this month claiming that the vaccine was 100% effective in preventing coronavirus among participants tried in South Africa, where the mutation is common. The report was released Saturday night. The Ministry of Health plans to discuss this week that Israelis may be mask-free in open areas immediately after the Independence Day holiday that takes place on Thursday. Last week, the government voted to change airport regulations and allow non-Israelis to visit their first-degree relatives in the country. Since March 20, all Israeli citizens have been able to enter.

Specifically, the researchers examined about 400 members of Clalit Health who tested positive for the virus for 14 days or longer after receiving the first dose of the vaccine, compared to 400 at-risk people who also caught corona. The groups were matched by age, sector, gender and more. The study showed that the South African variant is likely to break through the protective effect of the vaccine, even after two doses have been administered and more than a week has elapsed. All positive samples were subjected to genetic sequencing to determine which variant each person was infected with. Only 1% of the infected people had the South African variant. However, among individuals infected after receiving two doses of the vaccine, the incidence of those who had the South African variant was eight times higher than the percentage of individuals who were not vaccinated. This means that the Pfizer vaccine does not offer the same protection against the South African variant. Because so few Israelis were infected with it, the researchers said they could not assess the exact decrease in effectiveness. Stern suggested that the South African had less transmissibility than the original tribe and certainly than the British mutation, which was shown. to be as much as 70% more contagious, and thus failed to spread. “It can break through the vaccine, but it can’t spread effectively, so that’s the good news,” Stern said. The results of the study drive the message forward that Israel ‘must be very careful with airports’, Stern warned. “We are now in a unique position in Israel. The vaccines work, and amazingly we are the only country in the world where life goes back to normal. The biggest threat now is what will happen through the importation of airports. “Stern said that everyone who enters Israel should be tested, and if they are sick, the country should follow their results to find out what variant they are wearing. They must also be effectively isolated. ‘We do not want to import masses of the South African variant nor do we want to test how limited the portability is [of the variant] is in Israel, ”warns Stern. The study also investigated the efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine against the British variant and once again showed that the vaccine works. But in 250 individuals who were partially vaccinated, meaning that they had only one dose of the vaccine or that less than a week had passed since the second dose, the rate of the British variant was excessively higher compared to persons who was not vaccinated. This means, Stern explained, that although some studies show a strong efficacy of the Pfizer vaccine even after the first dose, it requires two doses to best control the British variant. She said this may explain why in December and January, when so many Israelis started vaccinating, it took longer than expected to lower the country’s infection rate. “The findings indicate that we can not yet consider the pandemic a thing of the past,” says prof. Shay Ben-Shachar, Head of Precision Medicine for Clalit Innovation. “It remains important to continue social distribution and the use of masks.”