Vaccination in Israel is losing momentum

Israel’s world-class vaccination campaign is losing momentum. According to the Ministry of Health, 3,541,000 Israelis have been vaccinated against Covid-19, including 2,157,100 who received two doses of the vaccine. Although vaccinations were opened last week for everyone aged 16 and over, yesterday only 59,000 people received their first dose and most clinics and vaccination centers were operating well below their capacity. Related articles Israeli laboratory: The vaccine seems to cut off vaccinations against the transmission of the emerging corona virus, in exchange for a rise in Covid infection. Israel will not achieve herd immunity against COVID-19. People who have been fully vaccinated so far but start-up is losing momentum and other countries are catching up fast. Most importantly, with a population of 9,300,000, only 38% of Israelis have been vaccinated. Health Minister Yuli Edelstein warned, “If we want to return to normal, we need all of you, so go get the vaccination.” Yesterday, Director General of the Ministry of Health, Hezi Levy, called on the executives of the four health funds in Israel to an emergency meeting to discuss ways to boost the vaccination campaign. Propose financial incentives for health funds based on milestones, after which the funds will have additional payments for every person over 50 who is vaccinated. Chief executives were reportedly skeptical about such a plan and felt that incentives for people to go and vaccinate, such as a green passport, would be more effective. About 90% of Israelis over the age of 60 have been vaccinated overall, but that percentage drops to 50% or less in the Haredi and Arab sectors, where infection rates are the highest anyway. It appears that people under the age of 50 are not in a hurry to get vaccinated, influenced by false anti-vaccination news, or are hesitant about how quickly the FDA has granted emergency approval. But most young people are simply indifferent. They do not feel personally threatened by the virus and now feel that they do not need to worry about transmitting the infection to their parents or grandparents, if they are vaccinated, even though the vaccination is only 95% effective. Posted by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – Feb 9, 2021 © Copyright Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2021