Israel says half of those infected with the delta variant have received the Pfizer vaccine
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, TEL AVIV — A number of adults in Israel are reported to be infected varian Delta Covid-19. Nearly half of the new variant cases discovered are residents who have been fully vaccinated by Pfizer.
Reported from Arabic, Israeli health authorities found that about 90 percent of the new infections were most likely caused by the Delta variant. This was explained by the expert who led the advisory panel on Covid-19 for the government, Ran Balicer.
The Delta variant, which was first detected in India in late 2020, is known to contain mutations that make it more contagious. A study by Public Health England (PHE) found that the Delta strain was 50 to 60 percent more contagious than the Alpha Covid-19 variant.
Meanwhile, children under the age of 12 who have not been vaccinated mostly account for nearly half of the infected cases. The outbreak prompted the Israeli government to reimpose the mask wearing rule, as well as other Covid-19 restrictions, to contain the spread of the Delta variant.
The policy to wear masks indoors was scrapped a few weeks ago, but the government decided to reverse that decision to tackle the highly contagious strain.
“The inclusion of the Delta variant has changed the dynamics of the transmission,” said WSJ quote Balicer.
According to him, Israel is actually one of the leading countries regarding the fastest and most effective immunization campaign in the world. With about 80 percent of adults (over 16 years) vaccinated with two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
According to Covid-19 data from Reuters, Israel’s daily infections currently average around 124 cases. As of last Sunday, the total diagnosed cases and deaths from Covid-19 in the country since the start of the pandemic stood at 840,638 and 6,249, respectively.
The Israeli government says an average of about 5,182 doses are distributed per day to its citizens. If the country continues to vaccinate at this rate, it will take another 350 days to deliver sufficient doses to 10 percent of its population.
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