The global focus is on Israel’s fight against COVID: the statistics are clear

According to The Jerusalem Post, social media and the media have made unsubstantiated allegations in recent weeks that more than 1,000 people are registered in Israel every day. coronavirus infections indicate the ineffectiveness of the vaccine.

There are even rumors that the vaccine is to blame for the development of the Delon strain of coronavirus.

The situation worsened when Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced last Friday that “Israel does not know exactly how much the vaccine helps, but less than we expected.”

Lower efficiency

N. Bennett simply compared the efficacy of the vaccine against the Delta strain and earlier mutations.

The Israeli Health Ministry reported in early July that the effectiveness of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine in stopping the infection itself, which is adorned with the Delta variant, is only 64 percent. The efficacy in preventing infection by the parent virus was 95%.

Of course, 64 percent. – not 95%, although it is almost twice as effective as seasonal flu vaccines. cases.

It is true that the number of daily infections and patient trips to hospitals has increased in recent weeks.

As of Tuesday morning, 124 people were hospitalized, 62 of whom were in serious condition. More than 65 percent. hospitalized patients were fully vaccinated. Among critically ill patients, this was nearly 70 percent.

The differences are impressive

However, it is completely wrong to estimate the total number of new cases or the proportion of vaccinated people who ended up in hospitals, says Professor Eyal Leshem, spokesperson for the Sheba Medical Center. According to him, it is not the absolute number of people vaccinated and infected with COVID-19 that should be analyzed, but the proportion.

The data shows that during this wave of the epidemic, only 1.2-1.6 percent. infected are seriously ill. During the previous wave, the number of those people was 3.9 to 4.3 percent.

“Does the vaccine reduce the risk of infection and the risk of serious disease? The answers to both questions are positive, especially to the second, because the threat of a severe case is substantially reduced “, emphasized E. Leshem.

Data collected by another professor, Eran Segal, who advises the government on coronavirus in the fight against coronavirus, shows that during this wave of the epidemic, only 1.2-1.6 percent. infected are seriously ill. During the previous wave, the number of those people was 3.9 to 4.3 percent.

Looking at older people, the difference is even more impressive. During this wave, between 4.8 and 6.8 percent become seriously ill. People aged 60 and over, compared to 28-31% the previous year.

Mathematics is like that. Let’s say there would be a million Israelis vaccinated and a hundred of them would become seriously ill. At the same time it would be 100,000. Unvaccinated Israelis and a hundred of them would also become seriously ill.

One hundred hundred are the same, right? No, only 0.01 percent would become seriously ill. vaccinated people and 0.1%. unvaccinated people. The difference is ten times.

During this wave, between 4.8 and 6.8 percent become seriously ill. People aged 60 and over, compared to 28-31% the previous year.

“The information may not be clear,” Leshem said. – There may be two-thirds of patients vaccinated, a third of the unvaccinated, a vaccine with 90%. efficacy, and there would still be more vaccinated patients. No one is saying that clearly. You just show the tables and people panic. “

A fight of fact and fantasy

In Israel, both doses of the vaccine have already been vaccinated 88 percent. (more than 2 million) people aged 50 and over. 230 thousand. do not vaccinate the population of that age.

After all, many people who get seriously ill are 60 or older. Older people have weaker immune systems and are less resistant to ingested virus, especially the Delta strain, and people of this age simply tend to be more severe than younger ones.

Finally, studies are still being conducted to determine more precisely how effective the vaccine is six months after vaccination. It is quite real that older Israelis are more likely to be infected with COVID-19 because they were the first to be vaccinated and the effects of the vaccine have already worn off.

Israel has already decided to revaccinate the most vulnerable groups. The third dose of Pfizer / BioNTech started last week in patients with weakened immune systems.

“Delta’s journey around the world did not begin in Israel, but in India, where many people have not been vaccinated. Those who were vaccinated did not receive a dose of Pfizer.

So the anticoagulants scream loud but wander. Vaccines don’t provide as good protection against the Delta strain, but they make Israelis safer. Accurate information must always win the battle of fact and fantasy, ”emphasizes The Jerusalem Post.