Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized vaccines are the only way Israel will be able to return to normal, Sunday night.
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At a meeting of the so-called coronavirus cabinet, he cited new data showing the vaccination rate among individuals aged 50 and over was lower than officials had originally believed. He said Health Minister Yuli Edelstein and Interior Minister Aryeh Deri had informed him the number of Israelis aged 50 and over that had yet to be vaccinated was not 350,000, but rather 570,000.
"This is still a very high number, and we need to vaccinate them immediately," Netanyahu said.
According to Health Ministry data released on Monday, 3,907,274 Israelis had received the first dose of the corona vaccine, while 2,535,064 had received both doses.
With 3,446 of the 47,336 people who tested for the virus, Sunday, found to be carrying COVID-19, Israel's infection rate stands at 7.6%. There are currently 54,803 active cases, 990 of which are serious. Of those in serious condition, 284 are on ventilators. So far, 5,403 people have died.
The cabinet has authorized in principle a move to enlist local authorities in the effort to encourage vaccination by providing them with the names of unvaccinated residents.
Such a move would require legislation to protect the identity of the unvaccinated. Despite the Knesset's dissolution ahead of the March 23 election, the plan is to pass the necessary legislation in the coming days.
The cabinet tasked the Health and Justice Ministries with submitting a proposal for amendments to allow for the transfer of information on the unvaccinated to the Interior Ministry and local authorities to the Ministerial Committee on Legislation.
Health Ministry officials at the meeting also recommended legislating a law that would compel teachers, drivers, physicians, and nurses to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
During the cabinet meeting, coronavirus chief Nachman Ash suggested the government offer financial incentives to healthcare providers, tourism offices, and medical staff that bring Israelis over the age of 50 to get vaccinated.
Under Ash's proposal, a member of one of Israel's healthcare providers that has yet to receive their first dose of the vaccine will receive a phone call from a joint operations room of the healthcare provider and the local authority. Likewise, Ash said he would like to see legislation that allows healthcare providers to share lists of individuals who have neither been vaccinated nor recovered from COVID-19 with local authorities.
"I offer an optimistic image, but it's a cautious optimism," Ash said. "There is a decrease in morbidity, but looking forward, we need to take care not to open irresponsibly, which would lead to an increase in morbidity."
Ash also suggested legislation be passed requiring either mandatory vaccination or coronavirus testing at places like hospitals, schools, and on public transportation, where there is a potential increased risk of exposure to the disease.
Meanwhile, Israel's largest healthcare provider recorded a 94% decrease in symptomatic coronavirus infections and a 92% decrease in seriously ill cases among those inoculated for COVID-19 compared to those who had yet to get the jab.
In initial findings released, Sunday, Clalit said Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine proved effective across all age groups outside of those aged 70 and over, who could not be assessed due to limited data.
Clalit researchers examined data from around 600,000 of its members aged 16 and over that had gotten the jab; 170,000 of whom were over 60 and 430,000 of whom were between the ages of 16 and 59. Each group was compared to a control group so that each individual was assessed in comparison to an unvaccinated individual with a similar likelihood of getting infected and becoming seriously ill.
According to Clalit's data, the vaccine is highly effective seven days after the administration of the second dose, when an individual is considered fully vaccinated, verifying the results of Pfizer's clinical trials.
"These results are the first harbinger in a series of research outcomes that the institute is completing for the assessment of the vaccine's efficacy in various groups," Professor Ron Balicer, who heads the Clalit Research Institute said. "For weeks, we developed tools and methods to deal with the many deviations typical of this kind of evaluation study on data that is based on real-world data," he said.
"The trends we've identified teach us that continued monitoring for additional weeks after the second dose will significantly increase the measured effectiveness of the vaccine. In effect, when we examine [the data] 14 days and more after the second dose, in the first examination, we identify even higher efficacy at preventing symptomatic illness and serious illness among the vaccinated at every age. We will soon be able to submit a precise assessment on this matter as well, with the same method, and we expect the efficacy data to be even higher," Balicer, who headed the study along with several senior researchers, explained.
Although the research is ongoing, and additional detailed findings will be made available in the coming weeks, Clalit published the initial data to show all those who have yet to be inoculated that the vaccine has proven highly effective and prevents serious illness.
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