New Real-World Study Shows Pfizer's Vaccine Cuts Transmission Of COVID-19

Pfizer and BioNTech SE said that the results of a new real-world study show that the COVID-19 vaccine they developed significantly reduces the transmission of the coronavirus. The companies said that after analyzing data from Israel, they found that the vaccine was 94% effective against asymptotic infections and 97% effective in preventing symptomatic disease, severe disease, and death.

As of Wednesday (March 10), about 55% of Israel's nine million population had received one dose of Pfizer's vaccine, and 43% are fully vaccinated after receiving the second dose.

The data also shows that the vaccine is effective at slowing the transmission of the B.1.1.7. variant, which was discovered in the United Kingdom. The study did not look at the efficacy of the vaccine against other variants because they were not in wide circulation in Israel when the data was collected.

Pfizer and BioNTech did not release the details of the study, which has not been peer-reviewed.

"The findings which suggest that the vaccine may also provide protection against asymptomatic Sars-CoV-2 infections are particularly meaningful as we look to disrupt the spread of the virus around the globe," said Luis Jodar, the chief medical officer at Pfizer Vaccines. "Altogether, these data are critical to understanding the role of vaccination in combating the pandemic and provide hope to other countries dealing with this devastating disease, which has now afflicted the world for more than a year."

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