The coronavirus variant discovered in South Africa could “break through” Pfizer-BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine to some extent, a study in Israel found.
The South African coronavirus variant has succeeded in penetrating the protection of two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to some extent, but it remains unclear how much efficacy is lost.
The research, released Saturday, compares nearly 400 people who tested positive for COVID-19 for two weeks or more after receiving one or two doses of the vaccine against the same number of at-risk patients with the disease.
It fits under age and gender, among other characteristics.
According to the study by the University of Tel Aviv and Israel’s largest healthcare provider, Clalit, the South African variant, B.1.351, was found to account for approximately 1 percent of all COVID-19 cases in all the people studied.
However, among patients who received two doses of the vaccine, the incidence of the variant was eight times higher than that which had not been vaccinated – 5.4 percent versus 0.7 percent.
This suggests that the vaccine is less effective against the South African variant, compared to the original coronavirus and a variant first identified in Britain that contains almost all COVID-19 cases in Israel, the researchers said. said.
‘We found an excessively higher percentage of the South African variant among people who were vaccinated with a second dose, compared to the group who were not vaccinated. This means that the South African variant can to some extent break through the protection of the vaccine, ‘said Adi Stern, the leader of the study.
However, the researchers warned that the study had only a small sample size of people infected with the South African variant due to its scarcity in Israel.
They also said that the research was not intended to derive the total vaccine efficacy against any variant, as only people who have already tested positive for COVID-19 are not looked at, not against the overall infection rates.
Pfizer and BioNTech could not be reached for comment immediately outside office hours.
The companies said on April 1 that their vaccine was about 91 percent effective at preventing COVID-19, citing updated trial data that included participants vaccinated for up to six months.
Regarding the South African variant, they said among a group of 800 study volunteers in South Africa, where B.1.351 is widespread, there were nine cases of COVID-19, all of which occurred among participants taking the placebo got.
Of these nine cases, six were individuals infected with the South African variant.
Some previous studies have indicated that the Pfizer-BioNTech shot was less potent against the B.1.351 variant than against others of the coronavirus, yet offered a strong defense.
Although the results of the study may be of concern, according to Stern, the low incidence of the South African tribe was encouraging.
“Although the South African variant broke through the protection of the vaccine, it did not spread widely among the population,” Stern said. The British variant possibly blocked the spread of the South African tribe.
Nearly 53 percent of Israel’s 9.3 million population received both doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Israel has largely reopened its economy in recent weeks as the pandemic appears to be on the wane, with infection rates, serious illnesses and hospitalizations declining sharply.
About a third of Israelis are under the age of 16, which means they are still not eligible for the shot.