COVID-19 dynamics after a national immunization program in Israel (original) (raw)

A n effective and safe vaccination campaign is urgently needed to halt the rapid spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections and the resulting disease, COVID-19. The BNT162b2 vaccine, developed by BioNTech in cooperation with Pfizer, is a lipid nucleoside-modified RNA encoding the SARS-CoV-2 full-length spike protein 1. Results from a phase 3 randomized placebo-controlled trial demonstrated that a two-dose regimen in a 21-d interval conferred 95% protection against laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection in individuals 16 years of age or older 2. On 11 December 2020, the Food and Drug Administration issued an Emergency Use Authorization for emergency use of the vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 (ref. 3), and, after that, an emergency use of the vaccine was also issued by the Israeli Ministry of Health (MOH). On 20 December 2020, Israel launched a national COVID-19 vaccination campaign 4 , in which BNT162b2 vaccines were administered. The Israeli health system comprises four health maintenance organizations (HMOs), and vaccinations were widely available, according to a prioritization schedule determined by the Israeli MOH. During the early phases of the distribution process, individuals considered as being at high risk for COVID-19 were prioritized for vaccination, including individuals older than 60 years, nursing home residents, healthcare workers and individuals with severe comorbidities. The vaccination campaign was further expanded for individuals aged 55 years and older 5 and 40 years 6 and older on 12 January 2021 and 19 January 2021, respectively. On 21 January, individuals aged 16-18 years were also prioritized for vaccination. On 28 January, the vaccination campaign expanded to those aged 35 and older 7. On 4 February, all individuals aged 16 years and older were eligible to receive the vaccine. However, the HMOs were still instructed to focus their efforts on those aged 50 years and older 8 .