Israel has recorded eight cases of a variant of the coronavirus first identified in India and believes the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine to be at least partially effective against it, an Israeli health official said on Tuesday.
The first seven cases of the Indian variant were detected in Israel last week among people arriving from overseas who have since undergone preliminary tests, the health ministry said.
“The impression is that the Pfizer vaccine is effective against him, although it is reduced in effectiveness,” ministry director general Hezi Levy told Kan public radio, saying the number of cases of the variant in Israel was now eight.
The ministry did not immediately respond to a request from Reuters for details on research on the Indian variant.
Britain and Ireland have also said they are investigating the variant after detecting it within their borders.
Israel, with a population of 9.3 million, has fully immunized about 81% of citizens or residents over 16 years of age. Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations are down sharply.