Pfizer Vaccine Efficacy Against the Delta Variant
On July 5, Israel’s Ministry of Health released results of a study examining the effectiveness of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine against all circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants, including Delta, for the past month beginning June 6. The ministry reported the vaccine was 64 percent effective in preventing infection and 64 percent in preventing symptomatic illness. Prior to the surge of the Delta variant, the vaccine had been 95% effective in preventing infection and symptoms. This rate of effectiveness was lower than other recent studies in Britain (88%), Scotland (79%) and Canada (87%). Israel claimed the vaccine was still 93% effective in preventing serious illness and hospitalization.
Pfizer declined to comment on the Israeli study.
Reference
COVID-19 Situation Report, Johns Hopkins University, July 9, 2021
