Prof. Ran Blitzer, a member of the Ministry of Health's pandemic response team, spoke this morning (Wednesday) with Anat Davidov and Golan Yokfaz on their 103FM program about the coronavirus vaccination campaign and emphasized: "The most important lesson from what we see in the data that has emerged in recent days is that those who were vaccinated with the first dose are not yet protected from the virus in the first two weeks. It is important to continue to follow the instructions.".
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Initial data from the vaccination campaign reveals that on the 14th day after receiving the first dose of the vaccine, there was a 331% drop in the number of people infected with the coronavirus. The Clalit Health Fund Research Institute's test, which was conducted on 200,000 vaccinees, refers to people aged 60 and over. And we are with the person who conducted this study and is leading it, Prof. Ran Blitzer.
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Are you surprised by the data?
""By and large, this is very consistent with what could be expected in light of the publication of the Pfizer studies. In their controlled study, too, they saw that the beginning of the separation of the graphs, the differences between those vaccinated and those not vaccinated, was observed around the 13th-14th day after vaccination. And it is to be expected that this is not the end of the story. There is some kind of gradualness to these things, and it is certainly reasonable to assume that if we wait another week and continue to monitor, we will see some kind of continued improvement in these results.".
So maybe the second vaccine isn't needed, if that's the case.
""A few things need to be said - 1. Perhaps the most important lesson from what we are seeing right now is that those who were vaccinated with the first dose are not yet protected. The protection is partial, and all of us, after one vaccination, must continue to be careful, to wear a mask.".
Dr. Sharon Alrai-Price says that 171 of the seriously ill patients received their first dose of vaccine.
""Very logical. At least in those first 14 days, those who are vaccinated and those who are not vaccinated, their fate is the same in every respect.".
Is there a situation where people came to get vaccinated without knowing they were verified at all?
""Unequivocally. Therefore, in our study, we completely excluded days 1 to 5 after vaccination from all our calculations. Because we understand that all the people who got sick there...""
They were infected even before they were vaccinated.
""truth".
How can we reassure people who are now facing a vaccine and are afraid of this statistic from Sharon Al-Rai-Price?
""I say that the data provided by Dr. Alrai-Price is accurate, but it does not teach anything about the effectiveness of the vaccine. All it shows is that when you have received a dose of vaccine, and it has not yet been two weeks, do not expect any protection, and protect yourself as if you had not been vaccinated. A week after the second vaccination, according to the data we have seen from both Pfizer and Moderna, you can breathe a sigh of relief, because there is a 90 to 95 percent decrease in your risk of illness and serious illness.".
I mean, can we remove masks, can we hug, can we not keep our distance?
""After the second vaccination, we don't return to normal life, and this is for two reasons - one reason, because between 5 and 10 percent of the people who were vaccinated are still not protected. We saw this in both the Pfizer study and the Moderna study, it's not 100% effectiveness.
Certainly, in groups over the age of 60, neither 100% nor 95% should be assumed. 90% is a more reasonable number. This means that 10% are still vulnerable, and you don't know if you are in those 10%. Therefore, as long as the disease is raging in the population, be careful. A second point why you should continue to wear masks and be careful - we still don't know to what extent, at the end of the day after the second vaccination, the person will really be protected from infecting others.
""That is, there is a possibility that some people who have been vaccinated, and are protected from serious illness, could still become infected in their upper respiratory system and infect others, causing the disease to spread.".
How afraid are you that mutations will develop that the vaccine will not be able to control, and that companies will have to update their vaccine, and as a result, we will have to enter into another vaccination campaign?
""I think what will happen at the end of the day is that from time to time we will update the vaccine strains, and we will have to make improvements. But I want to qualify and say - there is no evidence, as of today, that there is a strain that can escape the vaccine or the immune system of someone who has become ill.".
