Israeli Prime Minister: "Pfizer's Effectiveness Against Delta Variant Significantly Declines"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Minji Lee] The Israeli Prime Minister claimed that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine's effectiveness against the Delta variant is significantly reduced, and that vaccination alone cannot solve the problems caused by the Delta variant.

According to local media such as The Jerusalem Post on the 17th (local time), Prime Minister Naftali Bennett reportedly made these remarks during a meeting on measures to address the surge in COVID-19 cases the previous day.

Israel, which began nationwide vaccinations with the Pfizer vaccine imported in December last year, has so far completed two doses for over 5.22 million people, accounting for more than 56% of the total population (approximately 9.3 million). The number of new daily cases in Israel, which once surged to 10,000 in January, dropped to single digits by early last month due to the rapid vaccination efforts, leading authorities to lift all restrictions including indoor mask mandates. However, with the recent spread of the Delta variant, the number of cases has risen again, reaching 855 new cases on the 15th.

Prime Minister Bennett stated, "The Pfizer vaccine's effectiveness against the Delta variant is weaker than authorities had hoped," adding, "We do not know exactly how much the vaccine helps, but its effectiveness against the Delta variant is considerably low." According to data released by the Ministry of Health so far, the Pfizer vaccine's effectiveness was 94% against the original virus but dropped to 64% against the Delta variant.

He continued, "People believe that the vaccine will completely solve the problem, but that is not the case," diagnosing, "While the vaccine is effective in preventing COVID-19, in the context of the rapid global spread of the Delta variant, vaccination alone is not sufficient."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.