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At Sheba Hospital in central Israel, Idit Shemesh has been one of the first people in the world to receive the third dose of Pfizer against the coronavirus.
"I feel good and the most important thing is that
I have the feeling of being more defended and protected
against the virus," says Shemesh, who is part of the group with the highest immunological risk and the only one who from this week can receive the third injection to reinforce his weakened defenses.
The spread of the Delta variant, which has significantly increased daily infections, challenges the massive vaccination in Israel that had already forgotten the masks. The glass half full reminds, however, that the vast majority are mild cases, keeping
the number of seriously ill patients very low
(45), which makes it possible not to return to restrictions and closures.
Limiting itself for the moment to the small group with weakened immune defenses made up of adults who have undergone transplants or suffer from diseases, Israel has become the first to inject the third dose of the vaccine. His decision is based on the fact that the antibodies did not develop a satisfactory antibody response after two injections in many of the immunosuppressed. "I hoped not but today I believe that in
the end we will have to apply the third dose. The question is who and when will receive it,
" admits the director of the Infectious Diseases Prevention Unit of the Sheba Hospital, Dr. Gili Regev, on Channel 12.
The experts of the Ministry of Health do not rule out expanding it in the coming months to other sectors of the population,
starting with the elderly
.
The Israeli position
coincides with Pfizer's recommendation
and contrasts with the opinion of the United States health authorities, who consider that the third dose is not necessary at the moment.
As it did with the vaccination of pregnant women, Israel is once again one of the first countries to take an important measure against the virus.
Delta has been key in Israel's decision and is also the root reason why it has had to return the masks to indoor spaces after removing them on June 15. Outdoors it is still not necessary. If only 6 cases were registered on June 6, this Monday it has reached 730 cases in
the highest daily figure in the last four months
.
Another factor to take into account in the desire to strengthen defensive systems is the recent report warning of the reduction in effectiveness of the Pfizer vaccine over time. According to the Israeli Health data, it
was reduced to 64% in the prevention of symptomatic pictures
but it remains very high (93%) to avoid serious cases and hospitalizations. The report from Great Britain, however, places the reduction in efficacy at 88% in the first case and 98% in the second.
With the return of the virus, the tragic stories return. Like that of a family from Kiriat Bialik, in northern Israel. Rachel Nae (85) died this Monday just four days after the death of her husband Isaac (86) who was also admitted to the Rambam Hospital in Haifa due to the variance. The two elderly people, who
shared 67 years of their lives
, had had both doses on since the beginning of the vaccination campaign in December, although they also suffered from other diseases. His son Kobi is in quarantine after catching Covid-19.
Since the start of the pandemic,
6,439 people have died in Israel
.
Of the 9.3 million inhabitants, 5,800,000 people have received the first dose and 5,200,000 have completed the regimen.
85% of the adult population is vaccinated but there are still not many Israelis who do not want to do it either for personal-ideological reasons or because they did not see it necessary with the virus practically defeated.
Although about 40% of the positive cases registered received the dose of Pfizer and although the vaccine does not guarantee an airtight defense, it is the
most effective and useful instrument to avoid the virus
and allow society to return to routine.
The summer holidays and the return to the classrooms on September 1 are marked in red on the calendar of the Israeli Ministry of Health, which hopes not to have to face the fourth wave.
For this reason, it
intensified the vaccination campaign especially for children
between 12 and 16 years old.
Delta multiplies not only the number of infections but also the
tension between the new and heterogeneous government and the opposition
led by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"The best situation in the world"
"How have you managed in such a short time to spoil our success in the fight against coronavirus? We left you a country in the best situation in the world. We pulled Israel out of the pandemic faster than any other country," Netanyahu denounced in an agitated parliamentary session this Monday in which he added: "
When we left there were four infections a day and now there are more than 500.
"
From the heterogeneous coalition they reply that they inherited from the previous Government the total opening and the negligence in the controls and tests at the Ben Gurion Airport where the variant entered. The prime minister of the rotating executive, Naftali Bennett, was ironic about the argument used by Netanyahu as an electoral trump card according to which only he could bring vaccines and speak directly with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla. "
We have closed the holes that you left
. And we should not hold a press conference after every conversation with Bourla," he said, recalling that this weekend he agreed with Pfizer to advance the shipment of vaccines from the pharmaceutical company in early August, which ensures continuity supply in Israel.
In its first month of life, the new Israeli Government opts for
less strict and interventionist measures under the philosophy of "living with the virus"
which is not always seen with good eyes in the Ministry of Health.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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