The number of vaccinated COVID-19 patients in Israel listed in serious condition is dropping, but the country is still seeing serious cases rise among the unvaccinated, a new report by researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem published Tuesday reveals.
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The researchers who authored the report are the same group who advise the ministers in the Corona cabinet, and who predicted the current fourth COVID wave Israel is now battling.
The report said that the current rise in serious COVID cases could lead to a rate of 150-250 deaths per week by the end of August, which could mean 500-1,000 deaths in September alone (Israel's overall deaths in the pandemic is just above 6,000).
Meanwhile, if the current downward trend of COVID patients hospitalized in serious condition continues, the report said, Israel's medical centers would see the current wave peak at fewer than 2,000 hospitalized patients at once, and possibly fewer than 1,200.
The experts recommended that the government expand its vaccination campaign, particularly in sectors with low vaccination rates.
The report comes as Israel is seeing the largest number of new cases confirmed per day since February of this year. On Tuesday morning, the Health Ministry reported that tests in the latest 24-hour period had confirmed 8,646 new cases, with 6.2% of the 136,860 tests process coming back positive.
Forty-two percent of the newly confirmed cases were schoolchildren or school staff, with 3,691 students and teachers testing positive for COVID in the same 24-hour period.
On Tuesday, there were 55,323 confirmed active or symptomatic COVID cases nationwide, and a total of 926 COVID patients hospitalized. Of the hospitalized patients, 559 were listed in serious condition, the highest number since March 2021, and 89 were on ventilators.
Israel is pressing on with its vaccination campaign, with an emphasis on booster shots for older citizens. On Monday, over 1 million people had received a COVID booster.
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Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said, "We've now reached a million citizens who were responsible for themselves and their surroundings and received a third vaccination. This is a wonderful number and a great achievement, but there's a lot of work ahead of us. Hundreds of thousands of people understand that our decision to give the third shot is necessary.
"The citizens of Israel are the first in the world to receive a third vaccination, it's not something to be taken for granted. This is the only way we will protect public health and people's livelihoods. Anyone who still hasn't been vaccinated – go get vaccinated now," Bennett said.
Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz said, "the vaccine is the best way we have of fighting the Delta variant, protecting people's health, the economy, and daily life in Israel. We took care to ensure we have enough vaccines for everyone. It's time to use them."
Health authorities also continue to conduct serological tests, which check the presence of COVID antibodies but not the virus itself and help determine who has developed immunity, either through exposure or through vaccination. A total of 27,227 serological tests have been conducted in the Haredi sector, with 14.6% coming back positive.
Meanwhile, according to the "traffic light" plan that grades cities and towns based on their levels of COVID cases and vaccination, 75% of the population is living in communities graded either red or orange. These include large cities like Rishon Lezion, Beersheba, Ashkelon, Ashdod, and Petah Tikva.
On Monday, police handed out 2,266 fines to people for not wearing masks, 97 for violations of the Green Pass program, and 67 to individuals caught violating mandatory quarantine.
Israel's total COVID death toll since the start of the pandemic in early 2020 stood at 6,694 after an additional 13 patients succumbed to the virus on Monday. Since Sunday, 32 COVID patients in Israel have died.
