The Delta wave continued to subside in Israel on Thursday, according to a report by the Health Ministry. Of the 71,612 Israelis tested for the virus on the day, 651 (0.92%) tested positive.
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There are currently 9,354 active cases in the country with 325 Israelis hospitalized. Of those, 227 were in serious condition.
Israel has reported 1,326,538 cases, including 8,081 deaths, since the outbreak of the pandemic.
Thus far, 3,933,391 Israelis have been fully vaccinated, 5,723,252 received two doses and 6,227,581 got inoculated with one jab.
However, while the Delta variant seems to be waning in Israel, as well as the rest of the world, the medical community is already alarmed about another mutation emerging from Tanzania.
The A.30 strain was first detected in the East African country in February but has until now remained relatively isolated within the region. However, in recent weeks several carriers were found to be infected with the mutation in Angola. One case was also detected in Sweden.
According to researchers, A.30 did not mutate from other COVID-19 variants, but rather from the original strain that was found in Wuhan, China, at the outbreak of the pandemic.
Seeing as A.30 has only recently started spreading globally, little research has been done on it. Scientists at Germany's University of Gottingen published the results of a study this week which they conducted to see how A.30 spreads in the human body.
They found that not only did it have higher infection capabilities, but it was also more resistant to antibodies provided by the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines. The scientists concluded that A.30 could potentially cause a global infection wave, and should therefore be closely monitored.
Despite the warning, the World Health Organization has not named A.30 as a potentially dangerous variant, probably due to a relatively low number of reported cases. However, experts have pointed out that the infection rate might be underreported due to the Angolan and Tanzanian healthcare systems' inability to efficiently track and document the virus.
Meanwhile, health officials in Israel are scheduled to convene on Nov. 4 to discuss children's vaccinations after earlier in the week a panel for the US Food and Drug Administration approved kid-size doses of Pfizer's vaccine shots for 5-11-year-olds.
In an effort to be more transparent about its decision-making process, the ministry will broadcast the meeting online. Viewers who registed in advance will be able to pose questions to the experts.
Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton praised the move.
"I commend the Health Ministry on its decision to hold a discussion on the children's vaccines in a manner that is transparent to the public. This is the correct and right way. This is how public trust can be built."
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