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About half of the 600 people currently hospitalized in the country who developed severe COVID-19 received two doses of the vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc. Given that 5.4 million have been fully vaccinated. The Israeli population appears to be at low risk of developing a severe form of COVID-19 after two doses of the vaccine, Reuters reports.
Most of these patients received two doses of the vaccine at least five months ago, are over 60 years old, and have chronic conditions that exacerbate coronavirus infection. For example, 11 doctors, health professionals and officials interviewed by Reuters reported on diabetes, heart and lung disease, cancer and inflammatory diseases treated with immunosuppressants.
These rare cases have become an important argument in the global debate about whether vaccinated countries should be vaccinated with additional doses and in which people and in which people.
Israel began offering additional doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in July (for people 60 and older) and eventually expanded its age group. The United States (USA), citing data from Israel and other countries, recently stated that starting in September, all Americans will be able to receive additional doses of the vaccine.
Other countries, including France and Germany, currently plan to vaccinate only the elderly and people with weakened immune systems.
“Infected and fully vaccinated patients are elderly, sick, often bedridden before being diagnosed with coronavirus, immobile and already in need of care,” said Noa Eliakim, head of the coronavirus ward at Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva. . Raz.
On the contrary, “unvaccinated COVID-19 patients are young, healthy and healthy people, and their health is deteriorating rapidly. Suddenly, they need medical oxygen or a respirator, ”he said.
Israel’s Health Ministry has issued a new alert: A ministry report says that the effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine in protecting against a severe form of the disease has been reduced by more than 90 percent. to 55% for people 65 and older who received the second dose in January.
Disease experts say it’s unclear how representative these numbers are, but agree they are concerning, especially given evidence that the vaccine’s protection against infection is weakening.
Experts don’t know if this is due to the time since the vaccine, the ability of the highly contagious delta strain to avoid the protection provided by the Pfizer vaccine, the age of the vaccinated people and other health problems, or all of these factors.
Health officials from the UK (UK) and the US, the other two countries have reported health trends with high vaccination rates and a higher incidence of delta strains.
About 35 percent. In recent weeks, people hospitalized in the UK infected with the delta strain have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. According to federal data, nearly three-quarters of the cases in the US where fully vaccinated people end up in the hospital or die were found in people 65 and older.
According to US officials, their additional vaccination plan is based on fears that the protection provided by vaccines against the severe form of COVID-19 will diminish over time, even in the youngest adults.
“We are closely monitoring developments in other countries and are concerned that we will see the same situation in Israel as in the United States, with infections worsening among fully vaccinated people over time,” Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said at a press conference.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has repeatedly urged rich countries not to rush to get additional vaccines because poorer countries have yet to receive any COVID-19 vaccines.
Immune system response
The Delta strain, first detected in India, has become the dominant version of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide, accelerating a pandemic that has already claimed more than 4.4 million lives. lives.
With the arrival of the delta strain in Israel, the number of new cases per day has increased from single digits (June data) to around 8,000. About half of those infected are fully vaccinated, but many have mild to moderate symptoms.
Vaccinated Israelis are at high risk, including those aged 60 and over. Before the delta strain appeared in the country, it was possible that some people’s immune systems were weakened and that people with other diseases had not responded at all to the vaccine.
“In some cases, the vaccine did not elicit an immune response, nor did people develop antibodies against a specific disease or an immunosuppressive drug,” explained Dr. Mevorach, chief of the coronavirus patient ward at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. He provided several examples of comorbidities: chronic lymphocytic leukemia and lymphoma.
Of the 3 million. Clients of the vaccinated Israeli population, Clalit, the country’s largest healthcare provider, have had a severe form of COVID-19 since June 600. About 75 percent. They are in their 70s and received the second dose at least five months ago, said Ran Balicer, Clalit’s director of innovation. By the way, almost everyone suffers from chronic diseases.
“We practically do not see young people vaccinated with severe COVID-19,” he added.
According to UK doctors, they are also faced with fully vaccinated patients of a similar age who develop a severe form of COVID-19.
“Given their age and comorbidities, the vaccine given to these people is expected to be less effective than other age groups,” said Tom Wingfield, clinical professor at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.
The US delta strain has caused a new wave of morbidity and mortality, especially in states where vaccination rates remain low. The delta strain also becomes infected in people who have been fully vaccinated, but older people are likely to be more likely to have a severe form of the disease.
Texas 92 percent. Cases of COVID-19 infection and death were reported in fully vaccinated populations in people over the age of 60, and 75% of the victims had a comorbidity that aggravated the course of COVID-19, a spokesman for the public health department said.
Preliminary data from Israel suggests that the additional doses given in recent weeks reduce the risk of coronavirus infection in the elderly compared to the population that received just two doses.
Furthermore, Israeli doctors say that fully vaccinated patients recover faster even without receiving an additional dose of the vaccine.
“The fully vaccinated patients that I treated used to be discharged from the Intensive Care Unit after about three days. It took a week or two for the unvaccinated to stabilize, “said Yael Haviv-Hadid, head of the Intensive Care Unit at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv.
The vaccine does not prevent infection, but it facilitates the course of the disease, said Alex Rozov, head of the ward for people with coronavirus at Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon.
“According to our conservative estimates, vaccinated patients recover faster; treatment is more effective if there are antibodies in the body,” he added.
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