Israeli study finds Pfizer shot equally effective for young and old

Research out of Israel shows that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is equally protective against coronavirus across the age spectrum, from teenagers to adults older than age 60 years. Harvard University collaborated with the Clalit Research Institute for the large-scale study, which measured efficacy against developing coronavirus symptoms at 94% and protection against severe COVID-19 disease at 92%. The results dovetail with the drugmaker’s own clinical trials; but, with nearly 1.2 million volunteers, the Israeli study offered more data on older populations that were not well represented in the earlier investigation. The findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, provide “scientifically validated real-world evidence of the effectiveness of the vaccine,” said study co-author Prof. Ran Balicer, Clalit’s chief innovation officer. Although the 94% and 92% efficacy rates were based on data compiled 1 week after second doses were administered, the study also aligned with other recent research indicated that even a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine extends robust protection.