Despite its early success with the launch of the Covid-19 vaccine, Israel is rapidly heading for a third national deadlock as the virus spreads.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his cabinet are blaming a faster-spreading strain first detected in the United Kingdom last month. Israeli officials confirmed four cases of the strain on December 23, days after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said there was an emerging issue there.
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man receives a vaccination against coronavirus disease (COVID-19), while Israel continues its national vaccination process, during the third national blockade COVID, at a Maccabi Healthcare Services branch in Ashdod, Israel, 29 December 2020.
Amir Cohen | Reuters
At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Netanyahu told ministers, “We are in a state of emergency.” Ministers agreed on a blockade that will begin on Friday, close schools and non-essential businesses and force residents to stay within a kilometer of their homes.
This is amid a global revolt over a slow release of vaccines in the US and elsewhere, which Israel has largely managed to avoid.
Tom, 69, and Judy Barrett, 67, of Marco Island, are waiting in line in the early hours of the morning at Lakes Park Regional Library to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Fort Myers, Florida. , USA December 30, 2020. Image taken December 30, 2020.
Andrew West | USAToday | Reuters
Israeli officials boasted that the country had vaccinated more people in the first nine days of its vaccination campaign than it had had total Covid infections since the beginning of the pandemic.
The country had already vaccinated about 7% of its population of over 9.2 million since last week. The Israeli Ministry of Health projects up to 90% of the population “at risk” will receive the second of two vaccines from the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in the next 25 days.
The effectiveness of its vaccination campaign has made it a potential model for the rest of the world, epidemiologists say.
Israel had an early advantage, said Dr. Itamar Grotto, associate director general of the Israeli Ministry of Health and one of the officials leading the prosecution. “We have a national vaccination registry that was set up a few years ago; the whole country is in a single database,” he said in an exclusive interview with CNBC.
The register was started to ensure that the children received all the photos. This infrastructure has allowed Israel to be better prepared for this outbreak than many other countries fighting the virus. Israel had a frightening flight to Covid-19 when it was hit by a wild-type poliovirus outbreak in 2013.
The country controlled the disease through an intense inoculation campaign that led to today’s vaccine database.
Israel’s medical infrastructure offers several other benefits, he said:
- Healthcare in Israel is largely socialized.
- Israel has only four health care organizations that serve citizens across the country, while many other nations have more competition in the system.
- These HMOs are all connected to the country’s national health service, which keeps track of every Israeli citizen.
- The entire system is digitized, under a single national system.
Before packages carrying the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine began arriving in Israel on December 9, a government group began to determine who would receive the shots in the first wave.
Boxes containing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are ready to be shipped to the Pfizer Global Supply Kalamazoo production plant in Portage, Michigan, December 13, 2020.
Morry Gash | Swimming pool | Reuters
At the same time, the Ministry of Health has begun setting up a communications and distribution system so that when the vials containing the vaccine arrive, they could hit the ground, he said.
Patients in the database of the first group who received the vaccine were given an appointment by e-mail, text or through an online registration form with a date and time to obtain the vaccine. Regular clinics, community centers, hospitals and several sports stadiums have been turned into vaccination centers and equipped with previously trained medical workers, he said.
Because the vaccine cannot be frozen after thawing, Israel encourages immunization managers to use each dose.
Grotto said there is a waiting list of people who can enter in the short term if other people do not show up by the end of the day. Distribution center officials also divide the vials into smaller packages, suitable for each center, another waste prevention effort.
However, Israel’s challenges are far from over. Health officials recently confirmed that nearly 500 doses were wasted in the south of the country because health workers could not get enough people waiting to come to vaccination centers.
Israel is expecting more shipments from Pfizer. He also traded with Moderna and AstraZeneca; however, those photos have not yet been delivered. But they are expected soon. Israel is also working on its own vaccine, but it is not known when it will be ready.