Israeli study claims Pfizer vaccine may be only 64 percent effective in preventing symptomatic COVID cases, amid the spread of the Delta variant.
, appeared tentative about the findings in an interview with NPR, and said the percentage could be the result of the country testing more people for COVID.He said:"We don't have enough data or enough numbers to know what that means.
"It could mean that they just are testing a heck of a lot more people who are asymptomatically infected, and they're seeing a larger percentage of people infected. Hence a diminution in the efficacy of the vaccine." Fauci told NPR the apparent decline in effectiveness was"something we would certainly want to pay attention to, but I'm not so sure we can make any major conclusions based on the information we have right now."He wrote in a tweet on Monday:"Speaking to colleagues in Israel, real skepticism about 64 percent number. Best data still suggest mRNA vaccines offer high degree of protection against infection. And superb protection against severe illness.