Coronavirus Vaccines Proves to be Effective Amongst Carriers of Chronic Disease

A study was recently carried out by the Clalit Health Fund, and consequently published, which stated that the Pfizer vaccine against the coronavirus is effective amongst carriers of chronic disease, as well. 

The head of Innovation at Clalit, Prof. Ran Balicer, revealed that this paper written is largely an extension of a previously conducted research. He went on to add that these recent results were conclusive that the vaccine produced by Pfizer has the ability to provide protection against serious illness and disease.

The professor stated that its effectiveness is higher than was originally thought. However, he pointed out, while the study was being conducted, it was also noticed that the protection provided by the vaccine is slightly reduced if the patient has a handful of considerable background health conditions. 

In order to come up with these results, Clalit carried out this study by including around 1.4 million of its customers. It is the largest provider of healthcare in the State of Israel and provides assistance to more than 4.7 million people in the country. 

In addition to presenting evidence regarding the effectiveness of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine in general, the research took into account a couple of specific groups. 

Where the general population of the country is concerned, the vaccination turned out to be 96% effective when it came to the prevention of symptomatic morbidity. On the other hand, the vaccine was 95% effective in ensuring protection against severe morbidity. 

However, in previous research conducted by the Clalit Health Fund, these rates had been 94% and 92%, respectively. 

Moreover, the researchers also concluded that the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine had shown the efficacy of 92% when it came to preventing symptomatic diseases in people aged over 70. Through the study, it was further found that the jab still had a high rate of effectiveness for those who had other significant risk factors. However, these figures were slightly less. 

An efficacy of around 84% was noted in patients who had previously undergone organ transplant, whereas the vaccine was 80% effective for people with heart disease and chronic kidney disease. Similarly, the effectiveness of the vaccine was 86% for individuals who have diabetes. 

Balicer talked at length about these findings, stating that these are quite encouraging for the progress of the country. This is mainly because that a large number of expected cases of infections can be reduced even if the concerned people are suffering from a bunch of background diseases. However, he added, the residual risk of infection will be slightly higher. 

The professor said that the study resulted in two important conclusions. The first was that greater emphasis should be placed on the vaccination of the people of the country, no matter which age group they belong to. Moreover, he believes that the citizens of the State of Israel should continue to practice preventive behavior, especially if there is a high risk of infection.