Israel, a world leader in coronavirus vaccinations, has been reporting high daily infection rate since over three months as it scrambles to contain the spread of the new delta variant. Despite mass vaccinations, authorities are racing to give shots to children and are considering tighter travel restrictions at the country’s main airport.
What Went Wrong?
The country is currently battling the fast spreading delta variant and the rate of infection has taken its population by surprise. In June the country completely lifted the mandate of wearing face masks in public places as a result fo which the infection rose to 5.4 per cent. By early June, the Israel had reopened businesses, schools and event venues, and lifted nearly all restrictions after it inoculated some 85% of the adult population. It’s now seen as an early-warning system of sorts for other nations.
In the last week of June, it recorded its highest number of vaccinations of children and re-imposed a rule requiring people to wear masks indoors. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett for the first time appointed a coronavirus commissioner to manage arrivals at the main gateway into Israel, Ben Gurion International Airport, which he called “a huge national vulnerability.”
Pfizer at Play?
According to a report in Al Jazeera, most Israelis were vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine, which, as per the research available, is shown to be less effective than the Moderna vaccine against the virus and this could be among the key reasons for spike in infections.
“It’s true that Moderna has better protected people from infection, but the two vaccines are almost equivalent in effectiveness against severe disease,” the report quoted Professor Cyril Cohen, vice dean of life sciences at Bar Ilan university and a member of the health ministry’s coronavirus vaccine advisory board, as saying.
1 Lakh Israelis Inoculated Per Day
While Israel was among the first countries to begin vaccination for children and rolled out a booster shot of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, research suggested the vaccine’s efficacy had reduced over time.
Bloomburg reported that Israel has fallen from first to 33rd in its vaccine tracker of populations considered fully vaccinated. Around 100,000 Israelis are getting inoculated every day, the vast majority of them with a third shot, it reported.
Infections jumped because of the prevalence of cases among the unvaccinated, especially children, it reported, also attributing the jump to breakthrough infections in those who were vaccinated. The report suggested that the delta variant continued to spread in the country’s population all through summer, more so after the mandate for masks was lifted in June.
As a result, Israel saw a steep rise in cases, reaching an all-time high of 11,316 daily cases on September 2. However, the number of people needing hospitalisation has been low compared to the last coronavirus wave in mid-January.
New Restrictions in Place
Last month, Israel’s Corona Cabinet discussed new restrictions to stop the rise in cases due to the highly contagious delta variant. As part of the new rules the country decided that stores smaller than 100 square meters will be restricted to one customer per seven square meters. Similar restrictions applied to all places of work that receive the public.
Green passes, that sowed a person has been vaccinated or has recovered from the virus, were made compulsory for entertainment, sports, and cultural venues, gyms, cafés and hotels.
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