Real-World Study of Pfizer-BioNTech Effectiveness

the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine appears to be over 90% effective against COVID-19 in the real-world setting — consistent with results from the vaccine’s phase 3 clinical trial — according to an analysis of Israel’s mass-vaccination campaign in the New England Journal of Medicine.

From Dec. 20, 2020 to Feb. 1, 2021, nearly 600,000 vaccine recipients were matched to unvaccinated controls. Beginning 7 days after the second dose, the vaccine’s effectiveness for documented infection was 92%; for symptomatic illness, 94%; for hospitalization, 87%; and for severe disease, 92%. In addition, the vaccine was estimated to be 90% effective against asymptomatic infection, which could have implications for transmission.

NEJM article on Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine