More than half of Israelis receive both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Israel administered two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to more than half of its population, said the health minister on Thursday, a worldwide launch that helped the country emerge from the closure of a pandemic.

The distribution of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine in Israel began in December, with eligibility extended to citizens and residents over the age of 16 – about 69% of the population of 9.3 million. People are considered to be fully protected one week after receiving the second injection.

In a statement announcing the milestone amid a sustained drop in new infections, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein urged citizens “to follow (health) guidelines so that the coronavirus does not come back”.

He said that 50.07% of the general population – or 72.5% of the eligible population – received both doses of the vaccine, while 55.96% of the general population received the first dose.

Israel began easing the national blockade in late February. Most companies and schools, as well as airports, have gradually resumed activity – with capacity limits. Those who are fully vaccinated, and about 8.7% of Israelis who recovered from COVID-19 with presumed immunity, receive “Green Pass” certificates from the Ministry of Health that grant access to various leisure facilities.

Israel has seen an 85% drop in daily deaths from COVID-19, a 72% decrease in critically ill people and 86% fewer daily cases since the third pandemic peak in mid-January, according to data scientist Eran Segal of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.

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Health Ministry Director-General Hezi Levi told Reuters he believes all eligible Israelis can be fully vaccinated by the end of May. But some officials privately estimate that 10% of the eligible population does not want to be vaccinated.

Israel considers Palestinians in East Jerusalem as part of its population and provides them with vaccines. It also offered vaccines to Palestinians working in Israel and in settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Palestinian health officials launched a limited vaccination program in the West Bank and Gaza Strip using doses provided by Israel, Russia, the United Arab Emirates and the global vaccine sharing initiative COVAX.

Israel has been criticized internationally for not doing more to allow Palestinian vaccination. He says the Palestinians are responsible for health measures in self-managed areas.

A group of six Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups said they had appealed to the Israeli Supreme Court to demand that the state provide vaccines to the entire Palestinian population.

“COVID-19 morbidity and mortality rates in the West Bank and Gaza are increasing dramatically, but the vaccine supply to Palestinians has so far covered less than 1.5% of the population,” said one of the petitioners, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, in a demonstration.

A survey by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Research Research, released on Tuesday, found that 55% of Palestinians are willing to get the vaccine when it is available or have already received it, while 43% are not willing to get it.