Health experts in Israel are dumbfounded to learn that after weeks of strict shutdown and daily vaccination, the number of infections continues to increase. A quarter of all deaths died in January, more and more children are becoming infected and hospitals can no longer handle the flow of patients.
According to the Ministry of Health, 4,513 people have died from the effects of the virus until Wednesday. On Monday, 74 people died from the disease. More than a quarter of the total COVID-19 deaths in Israel since the start of the pandemic have been recorded this month.
The ministry said 8,680 cases were diagnosed on Monday and 7,737 on Tuesday, with the percentage testing positive for the virus rising to 9.6%, one of the highest figures in more than three months.
There are now 74,323 people in Israel actively infected with the virus. Of these, 1141 are in serious condition, including 414 in critical condition and 313 who are connected to respiratory equipment. More than 160 new serious cases were reported Tuesday, one of the highest numbers since the pandemic began in March 2020.
Both Channel 12 news and Kan public broadcaster quoted unnamed Health Department officials as saying all their predictions have turned out to be false, with several mutated, more contagious strains of viruses becoming more common. After peaking at over 10,000 daily cases last week, the numbers remain stubbornly high.
The Health Ministry said Tuesday evening that 2,728,154 of Israel’s population of 9.3 million people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, of which 1,315,179 have received both injections. Israel leads the world in vaccinations per capita.
Meanwhile, Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem reported that it is on the verge of ‘collapse’ and staff and hospital are unable to cope with the influx of new patients.
“This wave is much more complex. The sick people have more complications. The breathing problems are more complex. The fear is in their eyes. It’s not easy to see, ”one of the nurses told Channel 12 news.
Although not yet officially approved, the Ministry of Health is considering granting permission to vaccinate children under the age of 16 as it appears that more and more children are becoming infected with the COVID-19 virus and that children are dying from the consequences.
The ministry indicated that, given the rising levels of infection, the risks of not vaccinating at-risk children were greater than those arising from the insufficient data on vaccinating that age group.
In recent weeks, there have been more cases of childhood infection, a trend attributed to the British mutation. According to British researchers, children appear to be more susceptible to infecting and spreading the mutated virus than the original strain.
This is also evident from other figures, namely that despite the fact that all schools have been closed for weeks, 45% of new infections since the beginning of 2021 concern children under 17 years. In total, more than 54,000 children are infected.
The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine – the main one used in Israel – has not been tested on children and is only approved for emergency use by adults and teens over 16 years old.
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