NEW YORK - The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has been found to be at least 97% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19 cases, severe disease and death in real-world data from Israel, the companies announced Wednesday.
The data, collected by the Israel Ministry of Health, has not yet been peer-reviewed. But the real-world findings fall in line with those from the vaccine’s late-stage clinical trial, which reported 95% efficacy.
The companies also said the latest analysis of the Israeli data shows suggests that the two-dose vaccine is 94% effective in preventing asymptomatic infections.
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla called this point "extremely important.""This is extremely important... for society," Bourla told CNBC’s "Squawk Box" on.