Vaccine 94% effective in ‘real world’ study

The first big real-world study of the Pfizer/ Biontech vaccine to be independently reviewed shows the shot is highly effective at preventing Covid-19, in a potentially landmark moment for countries desperate to reopen economies. Up until now, most data on the efficacy of vaccines has come under controlled conditions in clinical trials, leaving an element of uncertainty over how results would translate into the real world with its unpredictable variables. The research in Israel showed two doses of the shot cut symptomatic cases by 94% across all age groups, and severe illnesses by nearly as much. The study of about 1.2 million people also showed a single shot was 57% effective in protecting against symptomatic infections, according to data published in the New England Journal of Medicine.