Israeli Data Seem to Show COVID Vaccine Protection Starts Fading After 6 Months

Most of the vaccinated people who have been recently infected got the shot around January, figures given to Israel’s Health Ministry show.

There is a growing correlation between vaccinated Israelis who have been infected with the Delta variant of the coronavirus and those who were among the first to get the vaccine, possibly indicating that the vaccine’s protection fades over time

Pfizer’s head of medical research and development, Mikael Dolsten, said in the statement that data from Israel about infections among people vaccinated in January and February indicated that “after six months, there may be risk of infection with the expected decline of antibodies.”

In Israel, the first to get the shot were mainly people over the age of 70, who are more vulnerable to COVID-19.

But Haas believes that even when controlling for age and other factors, the main reason for the renewed outbreak is that the vaccine’s protection fades over time, not that the Delta strain bypasses it.

The Health Ministry said Sunday that 261 new cases had been detected the day before, with 0.6 percent of tests coming back positive.

There were 4,130 active cases and 44 serious cases. The death toll was at 6,436 after five deaths were confirmed in the last few days, following almost two weeks of no fatalities.

The ministry said 5,728,526 Israelis have received at least one vaccine dose, and 5,190,709 have been fully vaccinated.