Experts say Israel may have already achieved collective immunity to coronavirus

As the international community redoubled its efforts to advance coronavirus vaccination, Israel waged the fastest and most successful campaign in the world. This allows today the country may have obtained collective immunity, which was unthinkable for any nation a few months ago.

Public health experts told the Israel21c site that About 56% of the 9.2 million Israelis are already fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while 15% have already recovered from the disease, placing the country in the territory of collective immunity.

The doctor Eyal leshem, from Sheba Medical Center in Israel, the country’s largest, explained that group immunity is achieved when 65 to 70 percent of the population have antibodies to the coronavirus.

“We are seeing a decrease in the number of cases, despite returning to mass meetings and schools after the third shutdown, as most of the people the infected person will meet are already immune.”Leshem noted.

Experts have warned that despite the successful vaccination plan that has been carried out so far, the country is still not out of danger at all as minors are not yet vaccinated and neither are all adults.

Last week, Israeli health officials assured that the vaccination of adolescents aged 12 to 15 could begin in May, after laboratories Pfizer and BioNTech announced that their vaccine against covid-19 is 100% effective in this. age range.

Children are less exposed to severe cases of the disease, and they also transmit it less (especially those under the age of 10). Therefore, their vaccination was not a priority until now.

BioNTech and Pfizer have started clinical studies with a first group of children aged 5 to 11. Others, aged 2 to 5, will receive the first dose this week as part of the study which will also cover children 6 months to 2 years old.

Currently, Israel is closed to most non-citizens. However, Leshem said when tourism resumes, the country will be “a very safe place for travelers due to our low risk of transmission.”

The doctor said that as long as tourists are fully vaccinated or tested negative for the virus, tourism will have “a reasonable balance between risks and benefits.” But he clarified: “If unvaccinated people travel without quarantine and full testing, we will increase the risk of the disease being reintroduced to Israel.

The government reported on Thursday that the number of patients in serious condition due to the coronavirus fell below 300 for the first time since December, amid authorities’ plans to reduce restrictions due to progress in the vaccination campaign.

The Health Ministry announced that in the past 24 hours there have been 274 cases and six deaths, for a total of 835,385 and 6,270, respectively, while the number of patients in serious condition stands at 290, i.e. a hundred less than a year ago. week.

Israel, which experienced a spike in infections in January, then reached 1,200 people in serious condition, although it has declined in recent weeks. The number of contagions and daily deaths has also decreased.

In this sense, the ministry emphasized that there are currently 4,771 active cases in the country, that is why the government is considering removing some of the restrictions. The executive had planned to hold a meeting on Thursday to discuss the situation in the education system.

“Education is the most important thing and we are making every effort to allow, as far as possible, that students return to the classroom while minimizing the risks,” said Israeli Minister of Health Yuli Edelstein.

With information from Israel21c, AFP and Europa Press

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