[box type=”info” align=”” class=”” width=””]by Niall McCarthy, [/box]
As a result of early efforts to secure vaccine candidates, a quick approval progress by authorities and effective infrastructure for administration, some governments are already racing ahead in their efforts to start mass vaccination against Covid-19. Website “Our World in Data” has been keeping tabs on the jabs and its findings show that Israel is leading the race to reach the 60-70 percent threshold needed to suppress the spread of Covid-19 among the general population.
Up to January 02, Israel administered 12.59 doses per 100 of its citizens, some 1.09 million in total. That is the highest rate of Covid-19 vaccination so far, considerably more than second-placed Bahrain’s 3.57 doses per 100 inhabitants and the UK’s 1.39 doses per 100 of its citizens. Things could change swiftly in the latter however, given that it has started administering the cheap and flexible Oxford University/Astra Zeneca vaccine. In the United States, the rate of vaccination stands at 1.28 jabs for every 100 people.
Israel is the pacesetter at the moment though and the country started vaccinations on December 19th, administering around 150,000 per since then. Israel gained a head start on other countries after it negotiated early on for supplies of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. The rollout has proven successful due to the country’s excellent healthcare system and enthusiasm about the vaccine among the population. Health Ministry Director General Hezi Levy said that the response has been so positive that the speed of the vaccination drive will have to be reduced in order to conserve stocks. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the speed and success of the program may allow Israel to emerge from the pandemic as early as February.
