Researchers at the medical center examined the morbidity rate among vaccinated workers • Morbidity of more than 500 staff members was saved in the third wave • Vaccine efficacy is higher than 90%
Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center
Photo:
Danny Maron
A team of researchers from Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center and the Hebrew University School of Medicine published today (Tuesday) the findings of their study on the high efficacy of the corona vaccine among Hadassah hospital staff.
The research team includes Prof. Shmuel Benenson, Director of the Infection Prevention Unit, Prof. Ran Nir-Paz and Dr. Jonathan Oster, in collaboration with Prof. Matan Cohen of Clalit Health Services.
The study was initiated by the researchers to understand the effect of the vaccine in preventing disease in the hospital.
The study relied on data collection from staff of the Infection Prevention Unit in the Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases and the Human Resources Division.
The article was published in a letter to the editor in the prestigious journal "The New England Journal of Medicine" and describes the morbidity in Corona among Hadassah workers since the beginning of the vaccine and over 8 consecutive weeks. For insulation.
Hadassah serves the population of the capital, Jerusalem, a city with one of the highest morbidity rates in Israel.
Since the onset of the epidemic about a year ago, about 700 staff members have been diagnosed at Hadassah and many more have been required to stay in isolation due to significant exposure to patients in the community or hospital.
With the start of the vaccination campaign in Israel, Hadassah's management led a campaign to vaccinate staff members.
At the time of writing, 86 percent of Hadassah employees had been vaccinated.
The vast majority also received the second dose on time.
Currently, more than 90 percent of Hadassah employees have been vaccinated, the highest response to the vaccine.
The researchers examined the morbidity rate in Corona among vaccinated workers, for 8 weeks, based on the number of weeks that had elapsed since receiving the first vaccine.
Already in the second week after receiving the vaccine, a decrease in the morbidity rate among the vaccinated workers was observed.
In the third week after vaccination, there was a marked decrease in morbidity, and this reached a low in the fifth and sixth week after vaccination (i.e. two weeks or more from the second vaccine).
The morbidity rate among vaccinated workers has dropped to almost zero (1/1000 per week) in contrast to the morbidity rate among unvaccinated workers and among Jerusalem residents (10-20 / 1000 per week).
According to data from the Ministry of Health, during the study period, the British strain is responsible for 80 percent of the morbidity in Israel and therefore the research findings support that the vaccine is effective "in real life" against this strain as well.
Because this is a follow-up study, it is difficult to accurately assess vaccine efficacy, but the study data show that vaccine efficacy is higher than 90 percent.
Based on the study data, the researchers estimate that the vaccine saved the morbidity of more than 500 staff members in the midst of the third wave, and also saved the need for isolation of many staff members.
This prevented serious damage to the functioning of Hadassah Medical Center, which, due to the effectiveness of the vaccine, was able to provide optimal medical service to the residents of Jerusalem, despite the huge wave of illness that swept the city.
The researchers conclude that the vaccine significantly reduces coronary heart disease among vaccinated staff and enables the creation of a safe work environment in the hospital, even in the presence of a high morbidity rate in the community.