Initial results of a Sheba Medical Center COVID-19 serological study show that a week after receiving the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine the antibody levels of subjects not only increased by 6-20 times but were also higher than those of recovered COVID patients.
“This means the vaccine works wonderfully,” said Prof. Gili Regev-Yohai, Director of the Infection Prevention and Control Unit at Sheba Medical Center and head of the study, who added: “The results of the study are consistent with Pfizer’s survey, and even exceeded expectations… there is certainly cause for optimism.” According to Regev-Yohai, the findings suggest that individuals who receive both doses of the vaccine will not only be protected from COVID-19 infection, but will also avoid becoming carriers of the virus, and thus may help to prevent the spread of the disease.
The study conducted at Sheba consisted of 102 subjects who received two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, of which 100 displayed a significant increase in pathogen blood antibody levels, showing high efficiency of the COVID-19 vaccine. Of the remaining 2 subjects, one was known to be immunocompromised.
Israel leads the world in inoculations per capita, having exceeded the two million mark over the weekend, including over 400,000 who already received the second dose.
