A health official said on Saturday that there were preliminary indications that the coronavirus vaccines might be less effective in protecting the South African variant.
“We do not yet have evidence that any of the variants are completely resistant to the vaccine, but there is preliminary evidence that the efficacy of the vaccine may be a little less than the South African variant,” said Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of public health services at the Ministry of Health, told the Kan public broadcaster.
“Here in Israel we do tests and try to check them [the vaccine’s] effectiveness against ‘the South African variant’, she added.
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Pfizer and BioNTech, whose vaccine is used in Israel’s world-leading vaccine management, said on Thursday that early tests indicated that their immunization would be protective against the variants of South Africa and Britain.
Dr. Sharon Alroy Prize. (With permission)
Their study found that the antibodies were able to neutralize all the sets of mutations tested. It noted that the effect was ‘slightly lower’ compared to three mutations in the variant found in South Africa, including E484K. But the companies said it was unlikely to lead to a significant decline in vaccine efficacy.
The Ministry of Health confirmed last week that three more cases of the South African coronavirus variant have been found in Israel, bringing the total number of infections of the strain to 30. distribution.
Meanwhile, the British variant is spreading wildly in Israel, and health officials blame the high coronavirus effects after weeks of locking up for the British mutation. The daily infections remain thousands, despite Israel’s strict restrictions and vaccination campaign.
Nearly 3 million Israelis – nearly one-third of the population – received the first dose of the vaccine, and 1.7 million both received shots.
Ten staff members at the Ichilov Medical Center in Tel Aviv were diagnosed with the coronavirus on Saturday, five days after receiving the second dose of coronavirus vaccine. No one experienced symptoms. It is suspected that the vaccine will reach full strength about a week after the second shot.
A man receives a COVID-19 vaccine injection in Jerusalem on January 28, 2021 (Olivier Fitoussi / Flash90)
According to several reports, the Ministry of Health is considering the temporary cancellation of the exemption vaccinated from quarantine after contact with a confirmed carrier, as it is not yet clear whether the vaccination prevents someone from carrying the virus and transmitting it to others, even while the person is protected from becoming ill himself. Given the still high infection rates, officials may stray on the side of the warning and withdraw exemptions for a time.
In an effort to keep the virus variants out of the country, Israel has closed its main international airport, also for its own citizens. The order will expire on Sunday, but will likely be extended.
The government is expected to extend the nationwide exclusion by another week on Sunday to lower infection rates.
Agencies contributed to this report.
