Pfizer, BioNTech vaccine prevent COVID transmission by 89.4%

The Pfizer and BioNTech COVID vaccine appeared to stop the vast majority of recipients in Israel from becoming infected, providing the first real-world indication that the immunization will curb transmission of the coronavirus, Report informs, referring to the Mint.

The vaccine, which was rolled out in a national immunization program that began Dec. 20, was 89.4 percent effective at preventing laboratory-confirmed infections.

The companies and Israel’s Health Ministry worked together on the preliminary observational analysis, which hasn’t yet been peer-reviewed.

The results, also reported in Der Spiegel, are the latest in a series of positive data to emerge out of Israel, which has given more COVID vaccines per capita than anywhere else in the world. Nearly half of the population has had at least one dose of vaccine.

Separately, Israeli authorities on Feb. 20 said the Pfizer-BioNTech shot was 99 percent effective at preventing deaths from the virus.

Pfizer and BioNTech said they are working on a real-world analysis of data from Israel, which will be shared as soon as it’s complete.