Israel ’s COVID-19 Vaccination Rollout Is Slowing at a Critical Moment. That’s a Warning for the Rest of Us

Now that nearly 60% of Israel’s roughly 9 million residents have gotten at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine, the New Jersey-sized Middle Eastern country is offering the rest of the world an enviable glimpse of a future where most people are inoculated against the coronavirus. While it’s still too early to tell the full extent to which vaccination is having an effect there, Israel’s rate of virus-related deaths has dropped faster than global figures since it started vaccinating (see chart below and methodology at bottom). Meanwhile, the latest real-world evidence collected in Israel suggests the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine—the country’s most commonly administered shot—is preventing nearly 99% of deaths from COVID-19, while also curbing viral spread. Israel’s mass vaccination efforts got off to an impressive start, with more than 10% of the population receiving their first dose fewer than two weeks into the national vaccination campaign. By comparison, it took the U.S. 57 days to reach the same mark, the U.K. 45 days, and the European Union still hasn’t matched it. Today, Israel is the worldwide leader in vaccinations per capita, at 108 doses administered for every 100 people, per the New York Times (the Pfizer vaccine requires two doses). But Israel’s breakneck rollout is beginning to slow, according to data from the Israeli Ministry of Health. While the country was administering first doses to as much as 1.5% of its popu...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news