Professor Nachman Ash, Israel’s coronavirus tsar, said on Saturday that Israel, despite proposals against it, had not achieved herd immunity and expressed concern about a new ‘Indian variant’ found in the country.
Ash said in a TV panel on Saturday that although more than five million people in Israel had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and another had recovered nearly one million from the disease, “it is not enough.”
‘We need to reach about 75 percent [of the population] vaccinated and / or recovered to achieve herd immunity, but we see low data for diseases, ”Ash explained.
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The latest figures from the Ministry of Health showed that 95 new cases of coronavirus were diagnosed on Friday, representing only 0.7% of the 14,182 samples. There have been 2,680 active cases and the death toll since the start of the pandemic was 6,315. The ministry also said that 5,341,887 Israelis had received at least one dose for the coronavirus vaccine and 4,965,696 had received two shots.
In response to plans to lift the requirement to wear masks outdoors and to reopen all schools from Sunday, Ash urged the Israelites to be vigilant and continue to wear face masks indoors, and even outdoors. busy areas.
Some Israelis wear protective face masks in Tel Aviv, April 7, 2021. (Miriam Alster / FLASH90)
‘It’s true, the risk of contamination outside is not great. “The big challenge is to carry the mask in your pocket and put it on when you arrive in a closed or crowded place,” he said on Channel 12.
Ash also said that the identification of an ‘Indian variant’ among arrivals to Israel from abroad is worrying because the variant shows some bad signs’.
The Ministry of Health said on Friday that the tribe was found among seven unaccompanied travelers who had returned to Israel from abroad, without declaring where.
Ash said most of the cases were identified by tests done at Ben Gurion Airport, while the rest were identified. He added that not much is known about the new variant, but that it seems to be spreading fast.
Medical technicians test passengers for coronavirus at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv on March 8, 2021. (Flash90)
‘This mutation … has bad signs about it. We are comparing the findings in the genetic sequence with what we know, and there are some indications that it is resistant to the vaccine, ” Ash said, adding quickly that the Pfizer vaccine has so far been effective against known mutations.
India has confirmed the new and potentially troublesome variant of the coronavirus, which contains two mutations in the prickly protein that the virus uses to attach itself to cells. Dr. Rakesh Mishra, director of the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology, said last month that these genetic modifications could be of concern as it could help the virus spread more easily and the immune system escape.
India is currently struggling with a huge increase in infections, and experts suspect that the rise of more contagious variants, including the one detected in the country, is suspected.
The virus mutated throughout the pandemic. Most mutations are insignificant, but scientists have investigated what problems can make the virus spread more easily or make people sicker.
The three variants first detected in South Africa, the United Kingdom and Brazil are considered the most worrying. Most of these were the more contagious variant found in the UK last year. The widespread spread of the British tribe in Israel is blamed for the severity of the Jewish state’s third coronavirus wave earlier this year.
People line up for COVID-19 vaccine shots in Mumbai, India, Thursday, April 8, 2021. (AP / Rafiq Maqbool)
In a report last week, the Ministry of Health identified several countries as more likely to be a source of mutated coronavirus strains that may have greater resistance to current vaccines. The report did not mention India.
Earlier on Saturday, Chezy Levy, director general of the Ministry of Health, acknowledged the declining case numbers in an interview with the public broadcaster Kan, but urged Israelis not to act as if the country is completely in public.
“There is a tremendous decrease in disease conditions, but my advice is that if people get together very closely, they should wear a mask,” he said. “We must act correctly so as not to make progress.”
Levy laments that 20 percent of teachers in the country are still not vaccinated, adding that children under the age of 16 are unable to be vaccinated, “we risk here too.” Levy predicted that the vaccination for 12-15-year-olds would begin next month.
On Sunday, all students from day care to 12th grade will return to regular personal classes, ending the requirement that some children still have to learn in smaller class sizes. Children in grades 5-9 were the only remaining students required to study in ‘socially remote’ capsules’ or pods. Students will still be required to wear masks indoors, but will be allowed to pick them up during the gym, when they eat, and in between classes.
A young Israeli receives a COVID-19 vaccine injection at a Clalit vaccination center in Holon, February 4, 2021. (Chen Leopold / Flash90)
After a severe third wave of the pandemic, Israel’s situation has improved rapidly in recent months, as it has the fastest per capita vaccination in the world. More than half of the population was fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and the results showed, with daily new cases and severe cases dropping to levels not seen for long months.
As the caseload decreased, Israel gradually reversed coronavirus restrictions by opening businesses, meeting rooms, and other activities.
Ash said the entire economy could reopen fully next month if there is no new increase in contagion.
