Spain has been awarded 23 million doses of the two approved vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna, which are expected to immunize 11 million people; however, the rate of vaccination in our country, one of the most affected by the coronavirus pandemic, it is slow compared to that of Israel or the United Arab Emirates.
According to the latest data published on the website Our World in Data, shared by the University of Oxford, Israel has already vaccinated 25% of its population; a much higher figure than in other countries such as Mexico, France or China. In the case of the United Arab Emirates, which ranks second in this ranking, the vaccination rate is 15%.
Israel’s overwhelming numbers, with two million vaccinated citizens, have not gone unnoticed by experts. Among the reasons that put the country at the forefront of the vaccination race is mainly his solid health system, One of the best in the world according to studies by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is a mixed system in which the state subsidizes part of the health care to Israelis, who are required to register with one of the four health care providers (called HMOs).
Digitization and preventive medicine
the wide digitization and investment in preventive medicine are some of the features of this health system that have allowed Israel to achieve a good vaccination rate, but they are not the only ones: from the country’s government was launched weeks before starting to administer doses an awareness campaign in the population. In fact, the prime minister ofIsrael, Benjamin Netanyahu, became on December 19 the first Israeli to receive the vaccine. “I asked to be the first to set a personal example and encourage everyone to get vaccinated,” he told the media.
For its part, United Arab Emirates (UAE)became the first Arab country to start the vaccination campaign. As elsewhere, priority is given to people over the age of 60, with chronic illnesses, and to health workers.
In this case, the wide deployment to vaccinate its population, with large spaces enabled for example in the city of Dubai, has made it possible to place the country in second place. Also the fact that residents in the capital, Abu Dhabi, began in early December to receive doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, with an effectiveness that stands at 86%.
United States, among the top positions
Although the vaccination campaign in United States started at a much slower pace than expected, the country has put the batteries in the last few days and has already administered the coronavirus drug to 3.4% of its population, standing at the fifth place in the ranking only behind Israel, UAE, Bahrain and the United Kingdom.
France, on the opposite side
Among the last positions in this classification is France. The neighboring country has only vaccinated 0.49% of its population, which has provoked numerous criticisms of the Government of Emmanuel Macron and in particular of the Minister of Health, Oliver Véran. “At this rate, we will still be here in 5,000 years,” former Health Director General William Dab said of current vaccination figures. Nevertheless, the French Executive maintains its goal of immunize 26 million citizens before the summer.
In Spain, although the vaccination campaign does not follow the expected pace, this Friday has been able to take a step further to advance the immunization of the population. A total of 676,186 doses were administered, 59.3% of those received. According to Our World in Data, 1.45% of Spaniards have already been vaccinated and our country is in sixth place after Italy and the other countries mentioned above.