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A health worker administers doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Israeli citizens in Tel Aviv, Israel. (Yonhap News)

The effectiveness of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in preventing infection and symptoms has decreased from 95% to 64% amid the spread of the virus' Delta variant in Israel, Reuters and other news agencies reported Monday.

The Israeli Ministry of Health announced that day that the Pfizer vaccine was determined to be 64% effective in preventing COVID-19 infections and symptoms when examined over the period between June 6 and July 3.

The vaccine's effectiveness was still a very high 93% in terms of preventing hospitalization for severe symptoms, the ministry said.

According to Reuters, the Israeli Ministry of Health previously announced in June that the vaccine had been around 95% effective in preventing COVID-19 infections and symptoms during May. During that month, the effectiveness at preventing severe systems was calculated at 98%.

The numbers show that while the Delta variant's spread has not led to much of a drop in the vaccine's effectiveness in preventing severe symptoms, its effectiveness at preventing infections has fallen considerably.

Explaining that the Israeli Ministry of Health did not provide "any further details" about the vaccine's effectiveness, Reuters noted that the decline "coincided with the spread of the Delta variant and the end of social distancing restrictions in Israel."

Israel lifted most disease control measures as of June 1 after making swift progress with vaccination; on June 15, it did away with requirements for indoor mask-wearing.

But the confirmed caseload subsequently began to rise again amid the Delta variant's rapid spread.

On Sunday, a total of 343 new confirmed cases were diagnosed — the highest number since early April. The Delta variant currently accounts for around 90% of all new confirmed cases in Israel.

Pfizer did not comment on the findings but cited research showing that antibodies formed through the Pfizer vaccine were "still able to neutralize all tested variants, including Delta," Reuters said.

The AFP quoted Ran Belicer, chairperson of the Israeli government's national expert panel on COVID-19, as saying that while the rising percentage of "breakthrough cases" — infections among fully vaccinated people — could be seen as suggesting reduced vaccine effectiveness in preventing mind infections, it was still "too early to precisely assess vaccine effectiveness against the [Delta] variant."

Reuters quoted Eran Segal, a data scientist at Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science, as saying that Israel was unlikely to see another sharp increase in seriously ill patients, suggesting that it was fine to "continue with life back to normal and without restrictions" as vaccinations are expanded.

By Shin Gi-sub, senior staff writer

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