Coronavirus: Only 8% of hospitalized cases received both Pfizer vaccines

Only eight percent of people hospitalized in Israel with coronavirus became sick after receiving both doses of the Pfizer vaccine, the Health Ministry revealed on Sunday, providing additional evidence that the vaccines are effective in preventing disease.

According to N12, out of 1,003 patients in Israeli hospitals, 83 were infected with the virus after receiving both vaccines. 751 of the hospitalized cases are of people who were not vaccinated, marking 74 percent of total cases. 

When looking at the 41 cases of patients in critical condition and connected to connected to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machines, none were of people who had received both vaccines. Seven of the cases were people who had received just the first dose.  

On Sunday, the ministry said that the R rate, which measures the ability of the disease to spread, dropped below 0.8, the level that indicates that the pandemic is receding. The rate has been decreasing for several days, and it stood at 0.78.

Last week, Pfizer and the Health Ministry announced that the company’s vaccine is about 97% effective against severe cases and 94% against asymptomatic infections.

The study considered information collected in Israel between January 17 and March 6. Unvaccinated individuals were found to be 44 times more likely to develop a symptomatic case of COVID-19 and 29 times more likely to succumb to the virus when compared to individuals who had received their second dose two weeks prior.