R&I – FS
Large parts of Europe are currently experiencing a massive COVID-19 outbreak, prompting a number of countries to impose lockdowns and other major restrictions. What can these countries learn from the experience of Israel, which experienced another wave of the pandemic over the summer and is now almost back to normal – amid minimal restrictions and an open commercial scene?
Israeli experts who spoke with Haaretz this week emphasized the importance of Israel’s booster vaccination campaign, which began in August just as the fourth COVID wave in the country was beginning to spike. Israel managed to bring down the case numbers without a national lockdown.
The fourth wave in Israel began in July as the delta variant spread. By that point, most Israelis had received two vaccine doses, but the effectiveness of the doses was waning. Since Israel was one of the first countries to initiate a massive and swift vaccination campaign, it was also early in witnessing the waning of protection from the vaccine – something that became apparent among many Israelis some six months after receiving their second dose. The ebbing immunity led to a jump in severe coronavirus cases among vaccinated Israelis.
Israel’s health authorities then decided to recommend a booster shot – a third dose of the vaccine, offered at first to Israelis 60 and over and later to all those 12 and over. Three weeks after the booster campaign began, a clear shift was apparent in the country’s COVID data. The number of cases among vaccinated people began to drop. And by contrast, despite representing just 15 percent of those eligible for vaccination, the unvaccinated became a majority of the severe COVID cases.
Three days of Joghurt
Article URL : https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/booster-shots-put-a-halt-to-israel-s-delta-wave-can-they-do-the-same-in-europe-1.10391260