AFP
24 FEBRUARY 2021
The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine has proven 94 percent effective in a study involving 1.2 million people in Israel, the first peer-reviewed real world research confirming the power of mass immunization campaigns to bring the pandemic to a close.
The paper, which was published in the
New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday, also demonstrated there is likely a strong protective benefit against infection, a crucial element in breaking onward transmission.
"The fact that the vaccines worked so well in the real world... really does suggest that if the nations of the world can find the will, we now have the means to end COVID-19 forever," said Ben Neuman, a virologist from Texas A&M University who was not involved in the research.