[ad_1]
Israel is in the “endgame” of the coronavirus pandemic, a senior health official said on Friday after data showed the country was seeing clear results from its massive vaccination campaign.
“We are in the last stages of the coronavirus. Israel, with the scale of its vaccine collection, is showing the world that there is an exit strategy, ”Ronni Gamzu, who was Israel’s COVID czar and has since resumed his post as director of the COVID, told Channel 12 Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv. .
His assessment appears to be shared by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was recorded earlier this week saying in a closed meeting that “it’s over.”
Receive the daily edition of The Times of Israel by email and never miss our best articles Sign up for free
“You all understand that everything we talk about the crown is just compensation for the past. It’s over, ”Netanyahu told members of a protest group representing independent business owners in leaked remarks recorded Wednesday and broadcast by Channel 12 Friday.
Confidence comes with Israel having vaccinated nearly a quarter of the eligible population and clear signs the vaccines are having an impact.
An education worker receives a COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination center in Jerusalem, January 13, 2021 (Yonatan Sindel / Flash90)
On Thursday, 56,716 Israelis received their first vaccination, for a total of 1,992,806, and a further 64,366 received their second injection, reaching 169,707 – by far the highest vaccination rate in the world, according to the Our website. World In Data.
Netanyahu vowed last week that Israel would scale up its vaccination campaign even further, reaching 170,000 injections per day, as a new batch of hundreds of thousands of doses of Pfizer vaccine lands at Ben-Gurion airport.
By the end of March, Israel will have vaccinated 5.2 million citizens against the coronavirus, according to a plan drawn up by the Ministry of Health.
Channel 12 TV revealed on Friday that the percentage of critically ill people over the age of 60 out of total confirmed cases had dropped significantly in recent days, from 2.5% to 1.5%.
“We got used to seeing that 2.5% of critically ill people were over sixty, which suddenly dropped,” Gamzu said.
At least 75% of the population over 60 has already received at least one vaccine, indicating that the vaccine was already having an effect, although its impact was not expected to come until after the second dose.
“This 1.5% is unprecedented, I haven’t seen that during the whole period. The vaccine has a clear effect, ”he said. “It shows the beginning of the end.”
Gamzu praised the government and Netanyahu for providing the vaccinations, but said the real credit was due to the Israeli public.
“The main success belongs to the people of Israel, the public who went to vaccinate with great faith, saying that I believe in vaccination,” Gamzu said. “It’s not something you see all over the world and it has to be said.”
The optimism comes as Israel said on Friday that all Israelis over the age of 45 would be eligible to receive the first COVID-19 vaccine through their health providers from Sunday as the immunization campaign d ‘Israel continues to develop.
A graph showing the top countries in COVID-19 vaccinations administered per capita, according to the Our World In Data website, January 15, 2021. (Screenshot)
Coinciding with the launch of the vaccination campaign has been an increase in coronavirus cases, with more than 9,000 new infections per day diagnosed in recent days.
There has also been a sharp increase in deaths and in the number of critically ill patients following complications from COVID-19.
Updated figures released Friday morning by the health ministry show that 9,192 new cases were confirmed the day before – the fourth in a row with more than 9,000 cases. However, the rate of positive tests, 7.7 percent, was about half of the record set in September. The number of daily tests has increased significantly and stood at 123,111 on Thursday.
The first figures on Friday showed a similar positivity rate of 7.2% – 1,807 cases out of 25,230 tests carried out at 10 a.m.
However, Gamzu said the overall number of new cases and critically ill people appeared to be leveling off and the trend was reversing.
The total number of cases since the start of the pandemic, which topped half a million on Monday, has reached 533,026, including 79,084 active cases – a new all-time high. Among them, 1,141 people were in serious condition, including 351 listed as critical and 291 on ventilators.
The death toll climbed to 3,892, an increase of 49 since Thursday morning.
Temporary police roadblock on Route 1 outside Jerusalem on January 15, 2021, during a third full nationwide lockdown, in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. (Yonatan Sindel / Flash90)
Due to high morbidity and mortality figures, the government last week tightened lockdowns that went into effect a week earlier, ordering the closure of schools and businesses.
Netanyahu urged Israelis to adhere to government-imposed virus restrictions and said no decision has yet been made on extending the third nationwide lockdown, which health officials said it would last beyond the original end date of January 21.
Police prepared to significantly expand enforcement of the lockdown over the weekend, setting up checkpoints that will operate around the clock.
Police said dozens of checkpoints had been set up along main roads, as well as in towns and villages. The increased enforcement measures began at 6 a.m. on Friday.
[ad_2]
Source link