A new Brazilian coronavirus mutation has been discovered in Japan among travelers returning from the Amazon region. As far as is known, the Brazilian strain is not more lethal, but like the South African and British mutations, it is much more contagious than the "normal" coronavirus.
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Maria Van Kerkhove, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the World Health Organization, said that carriers of the new strain did not exhibit more severe symptoms.
Britain, which is in the midst of a third and deadly coronavirus wave, is particularly concerned. "We already have tough measures [in place] to protect this country from new infections coming on from abroad, and we are taking steps to do that in respect of the Brazilian variant," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday.
It is unclear at this time whether the vaccine is resistant to the mutation, as manufacturers haven't yet tested the vaccine's resistance to this variant in particular.
Meanwhile, the first studies of the Pfizer vaccine efficiency appear to largely confirm the company's own estimates.
A major study conducted by Clalit healthcare provider demonstrated that the Pfizer vaccine slashed infections by about one-third 14 days after the first shot had been administered, Israel's Channel 13 reported Tuesday.
The estimate is based on a comparison of 200,000 Israelis aged 60 and more who received the first shot and had to test for COVID-19 – and a non-inoculated group of the same size and age.
Maccabi, another healthcare provider, reported that, according to its own records, the infection rate was down 60 percent two weeks after the first shot.
Also on Tuesday, Sharon Alroy-Preis, who is the Public Health chief at the Health Ministry, told Channel 12 that the Pfizer vaccine cut COVID-19 infections by half two weeks after the initial jab.
The official cited the preliminary data from Israel's inoculation campaign as the basis for the estimate, comparing infection rates among those who received their first shot and those who have not.
During its own trial, Pfizer established that it takes about 11 days for the organism to build up the antibodies needed for sufficient defense against the disease.
Three weeks after the initial jab, the person must take the second shot – the so-called booster – to complete the vaccination.
In the meantime, the Health Ministry reported Thursday more than 9,000 new cases for the third day in a row.
Of the 118,607 tests that were conducted the day before, 9,388 came back positive. This brings the infection rate to 7.9%.
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There are currently 78,826 active patients in Israel, 1,834 of whom are hospitalized, 305 in critical condition, and 273 on ventilators. Israel reported 3,826 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Some 1,934,685 Israelis have already received the first dose of the inoculation, and 104,346 have already received both.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
