How Israel Launches World’s Fastest Covid Vaccination Process – The Guardian – Coronavirus



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Israel is about to be vaccinated on the weekend 10% of its citizens, while the governments of the world are far behind although they started vaccination earlier, reports The Guardian. Palestinians could wait a few more months for vaccination.

By the end of this week, the country of 9 million people will be able to vaccinate more than 10% of the population, a much higher percentage than other states, including the United Kingdom, which began vaccination almost two weeks earlier.

With an operation available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, healthcare workers administer the first dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine at a rate of 150,000 people a day, almost 2% of the population.

People over 60, health workers and people at risk are prioritized. Local media reported that Israel has reached agreements with Pfizer and Moderna for several million doses in early 2021.

How did Israel develop the fastest vaccination process?

Israel has certain natural advantages, writes The Guardian, being a relatively small country, both geographically and in terms of population.

However, many other countries have the same characteristics. Israel’s initial success is also attributed to the healthcare system, which has a tradition and is now highly digitized. Everyone over the age of 18 must register with government insurance agencies, and military doctors have been called in to help.

At the same time, the government has launched a vigorous campaign against anti-vax misinformation. The Justice Ministry has successfully called on Facebook to remove four groups that posted “misleading content about Covid vaccines.”

Citizens are also encouraged to be vaccinated by officials through “green passports,” a document that allows vaccinated people to eat in restaurants, travel freely, and are exempt from quarantine. However, there is no evidence that the vaccine reduces transmission of the virus and the idea has been met with skepticism.

There is a lot of political dissent.

This month, after Pfizer released the preliminary results, Netanyahu pushed for a deal, including a call to the company’s chief executive at 2 p.m.

Many Israelis have been disappointed in the government’s response to the crisis so far. The country is in the third blockade.

Millions of Palestinians living under Israeli control in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are not included in the vaccination process, leading to accusations that the country is shirking moral, humanitarian and legal obligations.

Palestinian officials hope to receive doses of vaccines through the WHO COVAX program, but distribution in the Palestinian territories will not arrive until mid-2021.

Bahrain, a Middle Eastern country with a population of 1.5 million, ranks second in terms of population vaccination progress, with a percentage of 3% of the population vaccinated.

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