Early data in Israeli vaccine programme suggests infection rates slashed after first jab

An Israeli receives a coronavirus vaccine from medical staff at a COVID-19 vaccination center in Tel Aviv, Israel

Credit: Sebastian Scheiner /AP

Early data in Israel has indicated that coronavirus vaccines can significantly reduce infection rates in patients after they receive the first jab, in the first sign that the Jewish state’s world class inoculations drive is effective. 

According to Israeli broadcaster Channel 12, initial research by healthcare provider Maccabi said the first dose of the vaccine reduced the risk of catching coronavirus by 60 per cent after 14 days.

A separate study by Clalit, another Israel healthcare provider, put the figure somewhat lower at 33 per cent after testing 200,000 elderly vaccinated citizens.

That study compared test results for the vaccinated group with a sample of 200,000 Israelis who had not yet received the vaccine. The full details of the studies have not yet been published. 

“The graphs diverge on day 14 with a 33 per cent decline among the vaccinated elderly, without a similar trend among the unvaccinated,” Ran Balicer, the founding director of the Clalit Research Institute, said in a statement to the Telegraph.

“Peer reviewed manuscripts with more elaborate study design are underway and will shed more light on this topic,” he added.

Dr Sharon Alroy-Preis, the head of the government’s public health department, stressed that it was in the early stages of studying the data.

People queue outside a Covid-19 mass vaccination center at Rabin Sqaure in this aerial photograph taken in Tel Aviv, Israel

Credit: Bloomberg/Bloomberg

According to the Times of Israel, she also disclosed that 17 per cent of those seriously ill with Covid-19 in Israel had received their first vaccination already.

The reasons for this are unclear, though elderly Israelis who are eligible for the vaccination are statistically more likely to become seriously ill if they catch coronavirus, compared to the unvaccinated, younger population.

The details on the vaccine studies were first revealed by Nadav Eyal, a senior correspondent at Israeli newspaper Yediot Hachronot.

Israel has given the first coronavirus jab to more than two million people — around 20 per cent of the population — as part of the world’s fastest vaccinations programme.

The campaign focuses on elderly Israelis and those with underlying health conditions but was updated this week to include the over-50s.

The 24/7 programme, which even runs vaccinations on the Jewish holy day of Shabbat, is being bolstered by hundreds of Israeli combat medics who have been called up on reserve duty.

Israeli healthcare providers are also deploying a high-tech contact system which sends out text message alerts and allows patients to book their appointments on an app.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has said he aims to have vaccinated all Israelis over the age of 16 by the end of March.

The government is also looking at inoculating children if research confirms it is safe to do so.