More than 12,400 people have tested positive for coronavirus in Israel after getting vaccinated by the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine, comprising 69 people who had received their second jab.

Israel’s health ministry tested 189,000 people after Pfizer’s vaccine vaccinated them, and 6.6 percent of the people still tested positive for COVID-19.

Earlier, Nachman Ash, national coordinator on the pandemic, asserted that Pfizer’s vaccine was “less effective than we had thought.”

Israel inaugurated a vaccination drive on December 19, concentrating on the elderly, those with dangerous medical conditions, and some emergency workers. More than a quarter of its citizens have now received the Pfizer Inc. vaccine, health officials assert.

About a quarter of Israelis have taken their first vaccine shot, and 3.5 percent already got their second dose.

Since the rollout of vaccinations one month ago, the Jewish state had vaccinated more than 2.2 million of its nine million residents, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said Tuesday.

Yet, the country is in its third lockdown, with infection rates staying increased. More than half a million cases have been reported, and 4,005 people have expired in Israel since the pandemic commenced.

In spite of the lockdown and vaccinations, the surge in infections has been associated with virus mutations and apathy by some people of assembly constraints.

In exchange for rapid delivery of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, Israel has devoted itself to disseminating with the US-German manufacturer its data on the mass immunization outcomes.