Chief scientific adviser downplays concerns raised in Israel about vaccine

The UK’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance downplayed concerns raised in Israel that a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine may not be as effective as previously thought.

Research emerging from Israel, a world leader in terms of the speed of its vaccine rollout, claimed that efficacy from the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine may be as low as 33%.

Studies have previously put the rate of protection much higher, reaching levels of 89% efficacy between 10 and 21 days after vaccination.

Sir Patrick told the press briefing on Friday that the Israeli findings remained “preliminary information” and that those behind the research – one of the four organisations that arranges health in the Middle East country – “haven’t followed people for long enough”.

“I think the Israeli health ministry has said they’re not entirely sure those are the final data and they’re expecting the effects to increase, so I think it’s very preliminary,” he said.

“We had a discussion with the Israeli advisers yesterday and they are expecting to get more information over the next few weeks.”

This comes after England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, defended the decision to delay offering a second vaccine jab, arguing it allowed for more people to be offered a level of immunity against Covid-19

He made his the comments after being challenged by a concerned member of the public at a Downing Street press conference about the decision to delay the follow-up jab.