The Health Ministry proposed Monday to extend the lockdown by an additional week due to the high morbidity rate and the new coronavirus mutations.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a meeting with senior officials, among them Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat, Health Ministry Director-General Moshe Bar Siman-Tov and Coronavirus chief Professor Nachman Ash.
"The rise [in morbidity] was fast, but the decrease, unfortunately, is slow due to the mutations," one Health Ministry official explained.
"The discussion dealt with the analysis of morbidity trends, vaccination rates, the effect of mutations on the disease, dates of exit from the lockdown, and other issues," the prime minister's office said in a statement.
The Health Ministry reported Tuesday morning an increase in the infection rate, which currently stands at 9.3% as of the 54,408 tests it administered the day before, 8,628 came back positive.
Some 1,831 Israelis are hospitalized, 295 are on ventilators. Israel has reported 609,656 coronavirus cases and 4,520 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic in March.
Altogether 2,663,294 Israelis have been vaccinated with the first dose of the inoculation, 1,221,124 have already received both doses.
Meanwhile, the preliminary results shared by HMO Maccabi showed that only 20 people out of 128,600 who received both shots have since been infected with the coronavirus.
"This is preliminary data, but the numbers are very encouraging," Maccabi said in a statement. "Out of the 20 people infected, 50% suffer from chronic illnesses. All patients experienced a mild illness with symptoms including headaches, cough, weakness, or fatigue. No one was hospitalized or suffered from a fever above 38.5 C. Most patients tested for COVID-19 due to exposure to a verified patient."
"We will monitor these patients closely in order to examine if they continue to suffer from mild symptoms only and do not develop complications as a result of the virus," Anat Ekka Zohar, Maccabi's Information and Digital Health Division director, said.
Additionally, Moderna said on Monday it believes its coronavirus vaccine protects against new variants found in Britain and South Africa, although it will test a new booster shot aimed at the South African variant after concluding the antibody response could be diminished.
The company said in a news release it found no reduction in the antibody response against the variant found in Britain. Against the South African variant, it found a reduced response but still believed its two-dose regimen would provide protection.
Jefferies analyst Michael Yee said in a research note it was encouraging that the antibody response of the Moderna vaccine to the South African variant was still above the levels that provide protection.
Yee also said the speed with which Moderna was able to design a new booster shot candidate as proof of the flexibility of the new mRNA technology upon which it is based.
Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious disease expert at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the US Food and Drug Administration's vaccine advisory panel, said he was only mildly concerned the vaccine would not be protective against the variants.
"It is a little worrisome that you see a lesser neutralizing antibody response, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you are unprotected," he said, noting that even these lower levels may still be enough to protect against serious infections.
"The goal of this vaccine is to keep you out of the hospital and to keep you out of the morgue. If you get an asymptomatic infection or mildly symptomatic infection that is not a burden to the healthcare system," Offit said.
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