Israel: why Israeli Arabs remain the least vaccinated in the country
Audio 02:30
Vaccination against Covid-19 at the French hospital, Saint-Vincent de Paul, in Nazareth.
© © ️Sami Boukhelifa
By: Sami Boukhelifa Follow
6 min
The country is breaking all records in terms of vaccination against Covid-19.
Almost two million Israelis have already been vaccinated, that's 20% of the population.
Small flat however, according to the Ministry of Health, the vaccination rate among Israeli Arabs is very low.
What are the reasons ?
Our local correspondent visited Saint Vincent de Paul Hospital in Nazareth, one of the main Israeli Arab cities, to try to understand why
Publicity
Barely vaccinated, Joseph Mahli, an employee of the Saint-Vincent de Paul hospital, was placed under medical supervision.
It has redness on the face.
“
There is nothing to worry about… the nurse noticed that my face was a little red, and wanted to check my blood pressure.
Maybe my blood pressure is a little high, but it's because of the daily worries, and maybe also because of these masks which suffocate us.
But I assure you, I feel very good.
"
Yet in Nazareth, not all are so serene about vaccination.
Doctor Nael Elias is a pulmonologist.
He runs the Saint-Vincent de Paul hospital.
For him, the low vaccination rate among Israeli Arabs can be explained by several reasons.
“
There is a lot of fake news on social media, and as Arabs we are exposed to disinformation that comes to us from neighboring countries.
For example in Lebanon, people are very anti-vaccine.
And all these conspiracy theories which circulate on the Net of the Arab countries, can influence the Israeli Arabs.
"
According to Dr. Nael Elias, the Israeli health authorities also have their share of responsibility.
“
In the beginning, the vaccination awareness campaigns were in Hebrew, and did not necessarily target the Arab community.
In addition, vaccination in Israeli Arab towns has not been deployed as widely as in the rest of the country.
But that was quickly corrected
.
"
Despite this, some in Nazareth are not yet convinced.
Saja Aboud, accompanied her father to be vaccinated, but she still hesitates.
“
I'll see how it goes for dad and decide later.
You should be careful.
On the news, the health authorities encourage people to be vaccinated, they say it's good.
But hey, there is no rush!
"
To the management of Saint-Vincent de Paul Hospital, Sister Maha Sansour, understands these reservations, but she has a message to convey.
“
Having quickly developed a vaccine, when at the beginning it was said that it was going to take a long time, could have contributed to scaring people.
I myself have been vaccinated, it is a kind of testimony to me.
And so I ask everyone to get vaccinated.
If we want to put an end to this situation, and regain a normal life, we must be vaccinated.
It is a personal and community duty.
"
Newsletter
Receive all international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
Israel
Palestinian territories
Coronavirus
On the same subject
How Israel Became the Covid-19 Vaccination Champion
Vaccination of Palestinians: Amnesty denounces "institutionalized discrimination"
Covid-19: with 2 million vaccinated, Israel wants to become "the first country to emerge from the crisis"