Posted on 07/05/21
| News Source: i24
Serious illnesses and deaths from COVID-19 are still very low
Rising coronavirus cases in highly vaccinated Israel suggests that the vaccine may be less effective in preventing mild illness from the delta variant.
The delta variant's emergence as the "dominant strain" in Israel has led to a "massive shift in the transmission dynamic," Ran Balicer, chairman of Israel's national expert panel on Covid-19 said.
Vaccinations had brought transmission down to about five local new cases per day, but that figure has risen to around 300 in recent days.
About half of the daily cases are among children, and half are among mostly vaccinated adults.
There is some evidence to “suggest some decrease in vaccine effectiveness against mild illness – but not severe illness – is likely," Balicer said.
The number of severe cases among vaccinated Israelis has risen in recent days from roughly one every two days up to five cases per day, he said, noting however that it was too early to read conclusively into this.
Experts "remain hopeful that the vaccine effectiveness against serious illness will remain as high as it was for the alpha strain" identified for the first time in Britain in December, Balicer said.