Some studies have shown that though high, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine's effectiveness against the Delta variant is lower than against other coronavirus strains.ĭrawing criticism from some scientists, Pfizer (PFE.N) and BioNTech SE have said they will ask U.S. "We do not have enough data from our local outbreak to be able to predict with accuracy what would happen if we let go," Balicer said. Noting the impact of the Delta variant, he said the panel was advising caution over the removal of restrictions.
Ran Balicer, chair of the government's expert panel on COVID-19, said Israel had on average had about five severe cases of the virus and one death per day in the last week, after two weeks of zero deaths related to COVID-19. On Sunday, the government began offering a third shot to people with a compromised immune system. "But if we see that the number and increase rate of severe cases are endangering the (health) system, then we will have to take further steps."Īround 60% of Israel's 9.3 million population have received at least one shot of the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine. "We estimate that we won't reach high waves of severe cases like in previous waves," the health ministry's director-general, Nachman Ash, said last week. The Delta variant, first identified in India, now makes up about 90% of cases. New daily COVID-19 infections are running at about 450. Israel's last lockdown was enforced in December, about a week after the start of what has been one of the world's fastest vaccination programmes.
"I am very much in favour of Israel's approach," said Nadav Davidovitch, director of the school of public health at Israel's Ben Gurion University, describing it as a "golden path" between Britain's easing of restrictions and countries such as Australia that take a tougher line. "It's possible that there won't be a big rise in the severely ill but the price of making such a mistake is what's worrying us," she said.īut many other scientists are supportive. Israel's Health Ministry advocates more of a push for stemming infections, Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of public health at Israel's Health Ministry, told Kan Radio on Sunday. The curbs that have been reinstated include the mandatory wearing of face masks indoors and quarantine for all people arriving in Israel.īennett's strategy, like that of the British government, has been questioned by some scientists. The strategy has drawn comparisons with the British government's plans to reopen England's economy from lockdown, though Israel is in the process of reinstating some curbs while London is lifting restrictions. Implementation will entail monitoring infections, encouraging vaccinations, rapid testing and information campaigns about face masks. The main indicator guiding the move is the number of severe COVID-19 cases in hospital, currently around 45. "Implementing the strategy will entail taking certain risks but in the overall consideration, including economic factors, this is the necessary balance," Bennett said last week.
As most Israelis in risk groups have now been vaccinated against COVID-19, Bennett is counting on fewer people than before falling seriously ill when infections rise.
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