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Pfizer data from Israel finds vaccine prevents 94% of asymptomatic infections

11 March 2021
Dan Ackermann

The Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine was at least 97% effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 cases and 94% effective against asymptomatic infection, according to real-world data from Israel released on Thursday.

Why it matters: The latest analysis from Israel, where a world-leading 44% of the population has received two vaccine doses, suggests that the Pfizer vaccine could significantly reduce asymptomatic transmission — a key driver of infections — in addition to preventing severe illness and death.

Details: The analysis came from real-world data collected between Jan. 17 and March 6 in Israel. Vaccine effectiveness was measured two weeks after the patient received their second dose.

  • The shot was found to be 97% effective at preventing symptomatic cases, hospitalizations and deaths, supporting Pfizer's clinical trial findings that said it was 95% effective.
  • Unvaccinated people were 44 times more likely to develop symptomatic coronavirus and 29 times more likely to die from the virus.
  • The analysis was also conducted at a time when more than 80% of the tested specimens were the B.1.1.7 coronavirus variant first discovered in the U.K. — providing real-world evidence of the Pfizer vaccine's effectiveness against one of the more contagious strains.

Worth noting: This data has not yet been peer-reviewed.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.