Less than 1% of Israelis who had been fully vaccinated against coronavirus have contracted the pathogen, according to the data published by the Health Ministry on Monday.
The data accumulated by the ministry reveals that when it comes to vaccinated Israelis who had developed symptoms from the disease, the figure is even lower, indicating the inoculated experience the lighter form of the disease.
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A student getting vaccinated against coronavirus at a school in Ramle
(Photo: Kobi Koanes)
Out of 3,387,340 Israelis who had received both vaccine doses, only 4,711 have been found positive for the disease, with 907 or 0.02% exhibiting symptoms - mostly very mild.
Hospitals have also confirmed that the data - which was collected one week after the inoculated had received their second shot - reflects the picture in their dedicated coronavirus wards.
"Data shows that the vaccine is very effective, with the number of inoculated who contracted the pathogen is at 1% when we expected that number to be around 4%-5%, according to Pfizer and Clalit health fund's clinical trials," said Prof. Dror Mevorach, head of Hadassah Ein Karem Medical Center's coronavirus ward.
"The data shows that 98% of vaccinated, do not end up at the hospital, which is what we have been seeing in [coronavirus] wards over the past month and a half. Out of 86 active patients, very few are vaccinated, maybe two or three, with most hospitalized for a long period - which does not really reflect what is going on now," he added.
Prof. Galia Rahav, head of the Infectious Disease Unit and Laboratories at Sheba Medical Center, said that the data is "fantastic news."
"The vaccine works wonderfully, showing its effectiveness in 'the real world' almost 99% of the time," she said.
Rahav said she has never seen such vaccine efficacy in the elderly, noting that if the data had been collected two weeks after the vaccinated received their second shot, the numbers would have been even lower.
According to the numbers published by the Health Ministry on Sunday, less than 3% of current serious coronavirus cases are among people who were more than a week away from their second dose, further corroborating the latest data.
Out of 6,095 people hospitalized in critical condition since the start of the vaccine drive in December, only 175 had been admitted a week after their second vaccine dose, while nearly 75% of serious cases, some 4,589 people, were not vaccinated at all.
The rest appear to have received only one dose or were less than a week after their second shot.
Though there is no concrete data on the pathogen's spread among fully vaccinated, Health Ministry numbers show the majority of coronavirus fatalities last month were among unvaccinated.