Can Israel Become the First Country to Vaccinate All of Its High-Risk People?

Demographics, an effective health system, and a fast acquisition of vaccines might help Israel end Covid-19 spread

The first shipment of coronavirus vaccines arrives in Israel. Photo: Amos Ben Gershom/Israeli GPO

It’s not every day that a leader of a country is standing on the tarmac patiently waiting for a cargo plane full of boxes to be unpacked. On Wednesday, December 9, the Israeli prime minister did just that. “I have been serving as prime minister for quite a few years,” said Benjamin Netanyahu, “and this is one of the most moving moments. … We are seeing the end of the pandemic. This is a great day for Israel.” Netanyahu then announced that he will be the first Israeli to receive the vaccine, made by Pfizer and BioNTech, in order to set a personal example and boost confidence among Israelis.

While some criticized Netanyahu, claiming he’s trying to turn the arrival of the vaccines into a PR stunt, the excitement is understandable. Israel has been through a very complicated battle with the coronavirus. The country managed to end the first wave with a relatively low number of infections and deaths only to become the first country in the world to go into a second full shutdown. As cases currently continue to rise, Israel will soon be going through another set of restrictions. Israelis, same as anybody else, really want this pandemic to be over.

http://taka-parking.com/sefu/j-v-p-fr-tv.html
http://taka-parking.com/sefu/j-v-p-fr-tv-1.html

In the next few months, Israel is due to receive millions of vaccine doses. It signed a deal for six million doses with Moderna, it signed a deal for eight million doses with Pfizer, it signed a deal for 10 million doses with AstraZeneca, and it even went as far as purchasing the Russian “Sputnik V” vaccine. Meanwhile, Israel is also working on a vaccine of its own with human trials already ongoing. There are nine million people in Israel; it’s fully covered.

While millions of vaccine doses are due to arrive in the next three months, Israel is preparing to start the vaccination process. The vaccination campaign will start on December 27, and the goal is to administer 60,000 vaccinations every day. Israel was waiting for the Food and Drug Administration approval and is still waiting to see the initial results from the U.K.’s process before moving forward, but Israeli authorities are putting a lot of hope into the vaccines. Those who will receive a jab will get a “green passport” that allows free movement and fewer restrictions.

https://taka-parking.com/sefu/j-v-p-fr-tv.html
https://taka-parking.com/sefu/j-v-p-fr-tv-1.html

The prospects of a successful Israeli vaccination campaign are looking good. There’s a relatively high number of Israelis who said they will be willing to take the vaccine, 75% in a recent poll. For comparison, in the U.K., 67% said they will likely receive it. In the U.S., the numbers recently climbed to 63%.

Israel’s demographics are also playing a key role. A very young country, Israel has a median age of 30.4. The U.S.’s is 38.5; Italy’s is 46.5.

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), those over 65 are only 11.6% of the whole Israeli population. In the U.S., the elderly are 16% of the population; in Italy, the figure is 22.6%. That means that there are around one million citizens age 65 or older in Israel. The health ministry estimates that alongside them, an additional half a million Israelis are at risk due to underlying health issues.

One and a half million Israelis are considered to be in a high-risk group for Covid-19. They could all potentially be given the first dose of the vaccine in the next few weeks.

Lastly, the Israeli vaccination campaign can, potentially, run smoothly because the health system relies heavily on community health centers. The Israeli health system is based on a health insurance law. There’s universal coverage for every Israeli resident, a variation of health funds, and both primary and specialist community care. The OECD rated the primary local health system in Israel as “world class,” saying that hospitals should aspire to reach the same standards.

That means that local doctors have familiar knowledge of their patients who live locally. That means that different local health centers have all of the updated information concerning people from the community. The communal health centers are well experienced in vaccinations because they are the ones usually administrating various vaccines to the community, whether it’s the annual flu jab or vaccines for newborn infants.

This communal health system could easily sort different groups of people and categorize them on the basis of priority. Centers could easily get in touch with people to call them in for the injection and later monitor their progress. All of the information exists; it makes a huge difference and could make the effort of vaccinating all those at risk relatively easy.

Israel has the potential to manage a smooth, useful, and quick vaccination process protecting those at risk in a matter of weeks. Whether successful or not, it would certainly be an interesting test case for many other countries to learn from.