Israel’s COVID-19 vaccine recalls show signs of taming a delta

Less than a month after the campaign began to boost its COVID-19 vaccine, Israel is seeing signs of impact on the country’s high infection rates and severe disease rates fueled by the rapidly spreading delta strain, according to officials and scientists.

The delta hit Israel in June, as the country began to reap the benefits of one of the world’s fastest vaccines.

With the economy open and most restrictions lifted, Israel went from single-digit daily infections and zero deaths to around 7,500 daily cases last week, 600 people were hospitalized in serious condition and more than 150 people. died this week alone.

On July 30, the country began giving a third dose of the Pfizer / BioNtech vaccine to people over the age of 60, the first country to do so. On Thursday, he extended eligibility to people aged 40 and over who had received their second dose at least 5 months ago, and said longevity could decline further.

In the past 10 days, the epidemic has calmed down among the first age group, with more than one million of them receiving a third dose of the vaccine, according to data from Israel’s Ministry of Health and scientists. polled by Reuters.

The prevalence of the disease in vaccinated people aged 60 or older – known as the reproduction rate – began to decline steadily around August 13, dropping to less than 1, indicating that every infected person transmits the virus to less than one person. A reproduction rate of less than 1 means that the epidemic is decreasing.

The booster doses have an effect on the infection, the scientists said, but other factors are also likely to be contributing to the decline.

“The numbers are still very high, but what has changed is that the very sharp rise in infections and severe cases has declined, as has the pace of the epidemic,” said Eran Segal, data scientist at the ‘Weizmann Institute. Science and government consultant.

“This is likely due to the third booster doses, absorption from people taking the first dose and the high number of people infected each week, possibly 100,000, who are now naturally immune,” Segal said.

BOOSTER VERSUS LOCKING

After hitting one of the highest per capita infection rates in the world this month, the question now is whether Israel can extricate itself from a fourth outbreak without imposing another lockdown that would hurt its economy.

People line up at the MDA station to receive coronavirus vaccines in Tel Aviv, August 14, 2021 (Source: AVSHALOM SASSONI / MAARIV)

The United States has announced plans to offer booster doses to all Americans eight months after the second dose of the vaccine, citing data showing reduced protection. Canada, France and Germany have also planned reinforcement campaigns.

About 1 million of Israel’s 9.3 million people have so far chosen not to be vaccinated at all, and children under 12 are still not eligible for the injection. Health officials on Thursday said they identified weak immunity in people under the age of 40, although relatively few people have developed serious illness.

According to Doron Gazet, a member of the Hebrew University’s COVID-19 expert team advising the government, the increase in the number of critically poorly vaccinated people in the 60 and over age group has steadily stopped in the last 10 days.

“We attribute this to the boosted fire and more cautious behavior lately,” Gazit said.

More than half of people over 60 have suffered a third stroke, according to the health ministry.

According to Gazet, the number of new severe cases among unvaccinated patients aged 70 and over is now seven times that of vaccinated patients, and the gap will continue to widen as the number of infections continues to rise. to augment. Among those over 50, the gap is four times greater.

“We are optimistic, but very cautious,” Israeli Minister of Health Nitzan Horowitz told Kan on Sunday. “It gives us more time, the gap slows down and we move away from the close.”

But even if the boosters slowed the pace of the outbreak, they were unlikely to prevent Delta completely.

Since Delta’s advance, Israel has reintroduced masking in closed spaces and small gatherings and stepped up rapid testing.

The “living with COVID” policy will be tested in September, when schools reopen after summer recess and when Jewish holidays begin, when families traditionally get together to celebrate.