LDN - Health and Fitness

More than half of Israelis receive both COVID-19 vaccine doses

[March 25, 2021] By Dan Williams

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel has administered two doses of COVID-19 vaccine to more than half its population, the health minister said on Thursday, a world-beating roll-out that has helped the country emerge from pandemic closures.

Distribution of the Pfizer Inc./BioNTech SA vaccine in Israel began in December, with eligibility extended to citizens and residents over the age of 16 - some 69% of the 9.3 million population. Vaccinees are deemed fully protected a week after receiving the second shot.

In a statement announcing the milestone amid a sustained drop in new COVID-19 cases, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein called on citizens "to follow (health) guidelines so that the coronavirus does not return".

He said 50.07% of the overall population had received both vaccine doses, and 55.96% the first dose. Israel issues the fully vaccinated, and the around 8.7% of its population who have recovered from COVID-19 with presumed immunity, so-called "Green Pass" certificates that confer access to various leisure venues.

Israel began easing a nationwide lockdown in late February. Most businesses and schools, as well as airports, have gradually resumed activity - with caps on capacity.

The country has seen an 85% drop in daily COVID-19 deaths, a 72% decrease in the critically ill and 86% fewer daily coronavirus cases since the pandemic's third peak in mid-January, according to Eran Segal, a data scientist at Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science.

Director-general of the Israeli Health Ministry Hezi Levi told Reuters he estimated that the entire population eligible for vaccination will be fully inoculated by the end of May.

About a third of the country is under 16 and cannot be vaccinated until the shot is deemed safe for children. This month the health ministry said that recovered COVID-19 patients could get vaccinated with one jab administered at least three months after recovery.

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Israel counts East Jerusalem Palestinians as part of its population and has been providing them vaccines. It has also offered vaccines to Palestinians who work in Israel and settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Palestinians health officials have launched a limited vaccination programme in the West Bank and Gaza Strip using doses provided by Israel, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and the global COVAX vaccine-sharing initiative.

Israel has come under international criticism for not doing more to enable Palestinian vaccination. It says Palestinians are responsible for such health measures in their self-rule areas.

A poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research, released on Tuesday, found that 55% of Palestinians are willing to take the vaccine when it becomes available or have already received it, while 43% are unwilling to take it.

In Israel, some officials privately estimate that 10% of the eligible population do not intend to get vaccinated.

(Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell; Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Tom Hogue, Gerry Doyle and Giles Elgood)

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