No coronavirus data was available on the Health Ministry website on Tuesday due to a technical problem, which also caused a delay in the transfer of laboratory tests to health funds.
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HMOs cautioned the delay might affect preventative care to the elderly and at-risk population. Based on projections and earlier data on the spread of the virus, approximately 50,000 cases were identified in the last 24 hours.
As of Jan. 16, there were 253,103 active cases in the country with 1,303 patients hospitalized. Of those, 446 were in serious condition. Israel has reported 1,792,137 cases, including 8,318 deaths, since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020. Thus far, 537,419 Israelis have received four vaccine doses, 4,397,100 got three, 6,020,277 received two and 6,671,981 got one.
According to Leumit Health Fund, 207,436 Israelis are in self-isolation, of which over 13,000 are educational staff and over 100,000 are students.
Meanwhile, according to a report by Channel 12 News, 10 Israelis who refused oral coronavirus medication died from complications of the disease.
The drug, produced by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and offered by the Meuhedet Health Fund, was granted emergency authorization by the Food and Drug Administration in October 2020. The antibody cocktail was also given to then-President Donald Trump, who contracted the disease around the same time.
According to Channel 12 News, other HMOs also reported members refusing the drug, which means that as many as 120 Israelis could die from CVID after refusing the medication. The report also said that over 1,000 Israelis have been treated with Pfizer's oral pill Paxlovid since it arrived in Israel, but one in three patients turn down the drug.
In related news, the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan said on Monday that preliminary research indicates a fourth dose of the coronavirus vaccine provides only limited defense against the Omicron variant that is raging around the world.
In December, the hospital began administering a fourth vaccine to more than 270 medical workers – 154 who received a Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and 120 others who received Moderna's. All had previously been vaccinated three times with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
The clinical trial found that both groups showed increases in antibodies "slightly higher" than following the third vaccine last year. But it said the increased antibodies did not prevent the spread of omicron.
"Despite increased antibody levels, the fourth vaccine only offers a partial defense against the virus," Dr. Gili Regev-Yochay, director of the hospital's infection disease unit, said. "The vaccines, which were more effective against previous variants, offer less protection versus omicron."
The preliminary results raised questions about the government's decision to offer a second booster shot – and fourth overall – to its over-60 population. Director-General of the Health Ministry Nahman Ash said the research did not mean the fourth vaccine effort was a mistake, saying "It returns the level of antibodies to what it was at the beginning of the third booster. That has great importance, especially among the older population."
Also, "protection from serious morbidity, especially for the elderly population and at-risk population, is still afforded by this vaccine [dose], and therefore I call on people to keep coming to get vaccinated," he told Army Radio.
But Ash said the research would be taken into account as authorities debate whether to expand the additional booster campaign to the broader population.
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Israel was one of the first countries last year to widely vaccinate its population and last summer became the first to offer a booster shot. The latest booster campaign for older Israelis also is believed to be the first of its kind in the world.
Israel's extensive vaccination efforts have not been able to stop an Omicron outbreak in recent weeks. The variant has caused record-setting infection levels and sent a growing number of people to the hospital, though the numbers of seriously ill remain below previous waves.
It has also forced large numbers of Israelis into quarantine, straining schools and businesses.
Omicron is already dominant in many countries and can also infect those who have been vaccinated or had previously been infected by prior versions of the virus. Early studies, however, show it is less likely to cause severe illness than the previous delta variant. Vaccination and a booster still offer strong protection from serious illness, hospitalization and death.
On Tuesday, the government said it was shortening the mandatory quarantine period from seven to five days in order to help keep the economy running.
"This decision will enable us to continue safeguarding public health on the one hand and to keep the economy going at this time on the other, even though it is difficult so that we can get through this wave safely," Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said.
