Israel and the rest of the world are battling a fourth wave of COVID that erupted due to the Delta variant. Data collected in Britain indicate that vaccines are more than 90% effective in preventing serious cases of COVID-19 and hospitalizations in people who contract either the original or Delta strains of the virus.
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However, Delta is highly contagious and requires Israel to take a number of steps that will cut back on the rate of infection and the number of seriously ill.
The high rate of transmission of the Delta variant arrives when Israel has a relatively high rate of vaccinated citizens – over 65%. However, Israel can't rest on its laurels. As long as the COVID pandemic rages, new variants will appear that will constantly prevent new challenges to the successful vaccination campaign.
Companies like Pfizer are already making an effort to adapt their vaccines to variants, and we can expect to keep vaccination until most of the world is either vaccinated or contracts COVID and recovers. Israel needs to adopt a long-term strategy about how to live safely alongside COVID.
The first part of this strategy is to maintain a high percentage of vaccinated members of the population, including encouraging the million Israelis who have not yet been vaccinated to do so – through both outreach and incentives, along with legitimate restrictions on the non-vaccinated. These would include the government not shouldering the cost of tests or paying for quarantine days for the unvaccinated.
Most of the Israelis who haven't been vaccinated aren't anti-vaxxers. Most of them are afraid, hesitant, or feed off of fake news that irresponsible people put online. This sector should be identified and action taken by their community leaders to encourage them to get vaccinated.
The second part of the strategy is to make sure the elderly, medical workers, and other at-risk populations are vaccinated. Israel pioneered the COVID booster shot. Studies conducted at Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer indicate that a third shot of the vaccine significantly increases a recipient's level of antibodies. Health Ministry statistics show that it has led to a 50% drop in people age 60 and over who contract the virus.
The third element is to strengthen Israel's healthcare system, which launched its war on COVID without reserves and with one of the highest rates of hospital bed occupancy in the world. A recent government decision to establish additional positions in the public healthcare system is a vital step.
These actions need to be accompanied by a nationwide PCR testing apparatus, as well as stepped-up enforcement of public health regulations – especially at Ben-Gurion International Airport – so we are able to retain the success of the vaccination campaign in the long term.
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