For a long time, Israel was at the forefront of the fight against corona, but the number of cases has risen explosively in recent months. Where is it going wrong?
At the end of January, when we had just started vaccinating in our country, 3 million of the 8.8 million inhabitants in Israel had already had a first shot. The whole world turned to the vaccination champion to see what the effect of the successful jab campaign would be.
Israel is no longer so ahead of the rest of the world, but 5 million people have already been fully vaccinated. Initially, this strategy proved successful: the infection rates fell rapidly. But where two months ago only 10 to 12 people were infected per day, this has now risen to no less than 8,000 per day.
The fact that Israel was ahead at the beginning of this year plays a role in this, says correspondent Ankie Rechess in the NOS Radio 1 News. Experts point out that the effectiveness of the two Pfizer vaccinations decreases after six months. “As a result, people who have been vaccinated can still get infected again,” Rechess says. “There are now also extra contagious variants of the virus circulating. The plus is that people who are vaccinated usually get less sick.”
Holidays just around the corner
The country is once again leading the way with the solution to the increasing infection figures: the booster vaccination, or a third corona vaccine that increases the effectiveness again. That booster was already available for Israelis over 50, but is now also available for residents over 40, and soon for everyone over 12.
In a speech last night, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett emphasized the importance of the booster. He called on everyone to get vaccinated a third time.
Bennett himself also had himself vaccinated with the booster today:
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