Pfizer vaccine effectiveness down to 39pc amid spread of Delta variant: Israel

The effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine against Covid-19 has dropped to 39 per cent in Israel, the country's Ministry of Health said on Thursday.

The new figure refers to the period between June 20 and July 17, the ministry said, adding that the ongoing decline was observed along with the spread of the Delta Covid-19 variant in Israel, reports Xinhua. 

The latest effectiveness rate is significantly lower than that of 64 per cent measured between June 6 and July 3, and 94.3 per cent measured between May 2 and June 5.

However, the effectiveness of the vaccine in preventing severe coronavirus disease in Israel is currently estimated at 91.4 per cent, and in preventing Covid-19 hospitalization, at 88 per cent.

Since the start of the vaccination campaign in Israel on December 20, 2020, over 5.75 million people in Israel, or 61.6 per cent of the population, have received the first dose of the vaccine, while 5.28 million have received the second dose.