--- title: "People Who’ve Gotten Both Shots Simply Aren’t Getting COVID" description: "Out of 128,600 Israelis who had received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine, only 20 people had been infected by the virus." date: "2021-01-26" modified: "2021-01-26" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/israel-covid-vaccines-effective" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "Pathogens" - "Viruses" tags: - "coronavirus" - "covid19" - "Israel" - "pfizer" - "vaccine" - "vaccines" --- # People Who’ve Gotten Both Shots Simply Aren’t Getting COVID ![Default Futurism featured image]() Israel has been at the forefront of COVID-19 vaccinations, with more than 2.6 million residents — out of a population of around nine million — having received at least a single dose of the vaccine, [*Reuters* reports](). And just as experts had hoped, according to preliminary Israeli data, the vaccines are every bit as effective as they were initially promised to be. Out of 128,600 Israelis who have received both doses of the Pfizer vaccine, Israeli health authorities say that only 20 people have subsequently caught the bug — an extraordinary success rate that bodes well for the rest of the world, once the shots become widespread.. The news is actually even better than it sounds at first. Half of the 20 people who did catch COVID suffered from chronic illnesses, and not a single one experienced severe symptoms. "All patients experienced a mild illness with symptoms including headaches, cough, weakness or fatigue," a statement by Israeli health maintenance organization Maccabi reads. "No-one was hospitalized or suffered from a fever above 38.5 Celsius. Most patients tested for COVID-19 due to exposure to a verified patient." The data more or less confirms — or may even exceed — the high expectations set by vaccine manufacturer Pfizer and partner BioNTech, as the [*Times of Israel* points out](). Late last year, Pfizer announced it had found its vaccine to be [95 percent effective](). That's good news for Israel, which is currently experiencing its worst wave of COVID-19 yet, with [cases spiking]() over the last couple of days. In a response, Israel chose on Sunday to close its international airport to most flights. ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()