(Telegraph-UK-Ynet News) Abbie Cheeseman - Israel's Health Ministry reported Thursday that it has inoculated almost 800,000 people - 7.7% of its population - with the first of two vaccinations against Covid-19, including 33% of those aged 60 and above. 150,000 people were inoculated on Wednesday. "It's really being treated like a war...and Israel is experienced in battles," said Professor Allon Moses, Director of the Hadassah Medical Organization's Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. "The hospitals are involved, the community clinics are involved, the army enlisted about 700 paramedics to help with the injections." The country's health care system is highly digitized. All citizens over 18 must be registered with one of four competing HMOs. As soon as the vaccine became available, text and voice messages were sent out to eligible cohorts telling them to make an appointment. Israel is set to become the first country to start issuing a "green passport" to residents who have received the full two-dose vaccine - effectively a passport out of lockdown. "I see all around me people changing their minds and wanting to receive a vaccine," said Professor Moses. "About 70% of the severely ill patients are over 60, which is the target population for the vaccine, so in the next two to three weeks...far fewer will be severely ill."
2020-12-31 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive