(Bloomberg) -- The Pfizer Inc.-BioNTech SE Covid-19 vaccine helps prevent severe disease among those infected with the delta variant, according to research involving 1.2 million medical insurance plan members in South Africa.
The study provides large-scale evidence that the Pfizer shot works against this dominant variant, according to Ryan Noach, the chief executive officer of Discovery Health Ltd., Africa's biggest health insurer. The data used was gathered from the start of the country's mass vaccination campaign on May 17 through Sept. 23.
“This research was performed during a period when the delta variant was highly prevalent in South Africa,” he said in a briefing Thursday. “The vaccine effectiveness during a delta wave has not been widely reported on in large global studies, making this research even more relevant.”
While South Africa has set a target to inoculate 70% of the adult population by December, based on current levels it's estimated that only about 50% will be vaccinated by year end, he said. This points to some vaccine hesitancy in the country, which has sufficient shots, even after struggling to procure enough earlier in the year.
Two weeks after the first dose, the Pfizer vaccine is 73% effective in protecting against hospital admission, according to the study. Waiting the same period after the second shot raises that to 92%. For those that have had Covid-19 and followed the two-dose regimen, there is a 98% drop in the risk of hospital admission related to the coronavirus.
Unvaccinated members had a five times higher risk of infection and 20 times the risk of dying from complications of a Covid-19 infection, the data showed. No vaccine-related deaths were recorded among Discovery Health members.
An earlier trial involving almost 480,000 health workers in South Africa who got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine also showed that that shot worked in preventing severe disease among those infected with the delta variant.
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