Israeli Researcher: Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 Vaccine Has Ability Above 90 Percent

Vaksin Pfizer-BioNTech. (Wikimedia Commons/U.S. Secretary of Defense )

Jakarta - Israeli researchers have found that the vaccine is still very effective in overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the findings of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine which can reduce coronavirus infections by more than 90 percent.

This data was obtained by the Clalit Research Institute, based on research data on 1.2 million people. Half of these had received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, compared with those who had not received the vaccine.

"The level of symptoms of Covid-19, which means people who are infected with the coronavirus and feel sick, decreased 94 percent among people who received two doses of the vaccine. Meanwhile, the rate of serious illness decreased 92 percent", explained Clalit in a statement as reported by CNN.

Full details of the study have not been made public, and the study has not been peer-reviewed. However, these findings are consistent with data from Pfizer's own vaccine trials, which found that the vaccine provides 95 percent protection against Covid-19 symptoms.

In the Pfizer trial, researchers randomly assigned patients to receive a vaccine or placebo. Then they looked at how many people got sick in each group, and found that the vaccine drastically reduced disease.

The Pfizer study is a randomized controlled trial, the gold standard in clinical research. On the other hand, the Israeli study is observational, meaning researchers don't randomly choose who gets the vaccine and who doesn't.

That can be problematic to people who choose to be vaccinated, for example, may also be more likely to take other steps to protect themselves.

The researchers say they are trying to explain this type of effect. And observational studies are important because they can offer certain insights into how well vaccines protect people in real-world conditions.