Israeli study finds single dose of Pfizer Covid jab gives 85pc protection rate

Maccabi Healthcare Services staff prepare to administer doses of Pfizer coronavirus vaccine earlier this week

Credit: Jack Guez/AFP

An Israeli study has found that one dose of the Pfizer vaccine offers an 85 per cent protection rate, as the country’s top scientists endorsed the UK approach of giving out the jabs up to 12 weeks apart. 

Researchers at the Sheba Medical Centre gave one dose to 7,000 healthcare workers in January and found there was an 85 per cent reduction rate in Covid symptoms after 15 to 28 days, while overall infections – including asymptomatic cases – fell by 75 per cent.

Prof Arnon Afek, the Sheba deputy director general, said the research vindicated the UK’s approach of a significant time delay between the first and second doses, showing that the first offers strong protection.

"This ground-breaking research supports the British Government’s decision to begin inoculating its citizens with a single dose of the vaccine," he said.

Prof Eyal Leshem, the director of Sheba’s Institute for Travel and Tropical Medicine, said: "This is the first study assessing effectiveness of a single vaccine dose in real life conditions and shows early effectiveness, even before the second dose was administered."

British ministers faced criticism for the 12-week delay between doses amid concerns that the first dose alone was not enough to offer vulnerable patients protection from Covid. 

Israel has vaccinated more than 40 percent of its population, including the vast majority of over-60s, and has been able to lift some aspects of its third nationwide lockdown as a result. 

Next week, it is due to roll out a "green passport scheme" meaning Israelis will be allowed to enter swimming pools and gyms, among other venues, if they show a certificate of vaccination.