Israel has in the past two weeks vaccinated more than a million people against COVID-19 — some 12 per cent of its population — which is the highest vaccination rate in the world.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein were in the Galilee town of Umm al Fahm at the weekend when Israel reached its one millionth vaccination on day 12 of the drive.
“Now we can say with confidence that Israel will be the first country in the world to achieve total vaccination. This is an incredible accomplishment. In just a few months we will finally be able to say hasta la vista to the virus and to get back to the ‘normal’ that we all miss so much,” Mr Edelstein said.
The schedule is tight. Israel aims to complete the first and second doses for at-risk people, including frontline workers, by next month. It aims to vaccinate the entire population by April. To put that in perspective, that’s about when Australia plans to start its vaccination campaign.
Initially, the government feared people might be hesitant about the vaccine, but that dissipated as the rollout began. In its first two weeks, the government reached its goal of 150,000 vaccinations a day, operating some centres 24 round the clock.
Three healthcare providers are working at the Arena, a conference centre opposite Jerusalem’s main football stadium, vaccinating hundreds of people each hour.
Read the article by Irris Makler in The Australian.