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Half of the Israeli population has already received a second vaccine of a new type of coronavirus vaccine, the Haaretz website reported on Thursday.
The country’s 4,655,955 inhabitants have already received two doses until Wednesday night during the vaccination campaign, which began about three months ago.
of the Pfizer vaccine, according to data from the Department of Health.
Another 550,000 people have been vaccinated once so far and are awaiting the second dose of the vaccine, which will be administered in Israel three weeks after the first. At this level of vaccination, they still don’t come close to at least the 70-80 percent required for community immunity, but the epidemic has already slowed significantly.
The vaccine is expected to be 95 percent effective in preventing illnesses with severe symptoms caused by a coronavirus infection.
and almost immediately after vaccination of the elderly population, it had a positive effect in reducing severe cases and mortality.
In the last month, 97 percent of new infections have been identified with the British version of the coronavirus in Israel, and although it is more contagious and dangerous than the previous version, it has allowed a significant opening in the economy, trade and The education. during this time.
the number of new viruses and seriously ill patients has been steadily decreasing.
“Achieving a spectacular result does not require achieving community immunity,” Professor Ran Blicer, director of a research institute for a health insurance fund called Klalit, told the newspaper.
He also spoke that a phenomenon called indirect protective effect appears before reaching the level of community immunity and greatly reduces the number of diseases, but pointed out that the use of masks and social distance may be enough to reduce disease and open the economy. with precautions.
A health insurance fund called Maccabi has jointly published a study with the Technion University in Haifa based on data from 1.8 million Israelis that the vaccine prevented the disease by 99 percent from the third week after the second vaccine, and 91 percent also avoided infection.
The efficacy of the vaccine was somewhat lower in the elderly and those with underlying disease, but it also provided an exceptionally high level of protection.
On Wednesday, 10,474 Israelis were vaccinated for the first time and 45,158 for the second time with the Pfizer vaccine. In the vaccination campaign, which began on December 20, 5,202,664 (55.96 percent of the country’s population) have received at least the first dose of the vaccine so far.
Currently, the Ministry of Health has 12,906 active infections, with 740 people hospitalized for complications from the coronavirus, of which 482 are serious cases and 189 need a ventilator. Since the SARS-CoV-2 virus, 6,157 people have died in Israel since February last year.
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