More than 55% of Israelis over the age of 16 have been completely vaccinated against Covid-19 in the twelve weeks since the first punch was administered to a national television that made a first wind blow, Benjamin Netanyahu. This is the best vaccination rate in the world and about four times the US rate.
To find out how the Jewish state has become an excess, I interviewed its Covid-19 national coordinator, Nachman Ash. Dr. Ash, 60, began his medical career in 1987 as a combat physician in the Israeli Defense Forces. Before retiring from the service, he rose to the rank of brigadier general and the position of IDF general surgeon. Sitting in his Spartan office in Lod, south of Ben Gurion International Airport, he tells me he is fighting a “war 24 hours a day.” His current job is “the most intense” he has ever had, “much harder” than being an Israeli army chief, even in times of war.
Dr. Ash is the second covida tsar of Israel. He took office on November 12, after his less diplomatic predecessor quit smoking amid clashes with Mr Netanyahu and fights with ultra-Orthodox (often recalcitrant) Jews, who faced blockades and other social restrictions.
Like all good officers, he is proud of his victories, but quickly credits others. He attributes the successes of Israel’s vaccination to its political leaders, who showed foresight in concluding the first deals to store the Covid vaccine. Officials had “direct discussions” with Pfizer,
in which they offered the company a scientific quid pro quo. Israel received the shots soon and in the quantities it needed, and in return Pfizer received access to the results of the vaccinations, classified by a country with a first-rate medical system and a reputation for statistical and scientific integrity. Dr. Ash calls it “a win-win deal” and believes Pfizer would say the same.
The results match those of previous, much smaller clinical trials. “We’re seeing about 95% effectiveness in preventing disease,” Dr. Ash says. “So in real-life data analysis, the results are as good as the research Pfizer had done.”
Widespread vaccination has reduced infection rates and improved morale in a gregarious country that has suffered three severe blockades over the past year. The last, much hated by the Israelis, was from January 8 to February 7, 2021. Citizens were confined within 1,000 meters of their home. Schools were closed.
Dr. Ash does not apologize for the difficulties. “I think it was absolutely necessary each of the three times we had to use the closures.” He vehemently disagrees with the Barrington Grand Declaration, in which a group of epidemiologists advocate “focused protection” of the vulnerable and the end of closures.
“No no No. I think it’s a very dangerous way to deal with the pandemic,” says Dr. Ash. “They believe in stopping the pandemic by what I would call ‘natural herd immunity,’ which is achieved by allowing people to they’re infected. But that’s wrong, because we’re going to lose a lot of lives. ” A firm commitment to protecting the lives of its citizens has been a hallmark of Israel’s civic pact since its inception. The same aversion to loss of life that marks Israel’s civil defense against Hezbollah rockets can be seen in its prudently incremental approach to resuming normal life amid the pandemic. The country is very committed to vaccines. “Once about 80% of Israel’s population is vaccinated,” he says, “we will be close to the herd’s immunity.”
Dr. Ash talks to me about Israel’s vaccination methods and figures with quiet satisfaction. “We first vaccinated those who were at risk, but not in too narrow spaces.” Israel began in December by offering vaccines to everyone over the age of 60 (the age limit in most U.S. states is 65), as well as anyone with comorbidities. When the number of people over 60 vaccinated reached heights, “we opened it to 50 or more.”
Israel then extended the vaccine to those between the ages of 16 and 18. “We wanted them to be vaccinated before they went back to school, once the closure was over,” Dr. Ash says. Children under the age of 16 are excluded because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (to which Israel adheres) has not approved the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine for this age group.
After the teens, the vaccination was opened to almost everyone who arrived. “We still haven’t vaccinated anyone who has had Covid and recovered from it,” Dr. Ash points out, though they will soon get a shot to boost their natural immunity. Since Friday, Dr. Ash’s spokeswoman reports, 3.1 million Israelis have received both shots and 5.1 million have received the first shot. For Israelis 50 years of age or older, the full vaccination rate is 86%. When you exclude the ineligible (children and 738,000 people with immunity from previous infections) from the denominator, you will end up with a full vaccination rate of over 80% for all over 16s.
The vaccines have been administered through Kupat Holim – Hebrew for “fund for the sick” – the four insurance organizations that are the mainstay of Israeli health. The law requires all citizens to enroll in one of the four and Dr. Ash was director of the Health Division of Maccabi Healthcare Services, the second largest, before becoming a Covid tsar. There are clinics even in smaller cities. “Every Kupat Holim,” says Dr. Ash, “vaccinates its people.” This is an aspect of vaccine delivery that would be impossible to replicate in the US, with its intermingling of unconnected medical providers and insurers.
What the two countries have in common is an observable pattern of skeptics against the Covid vaccine. In Israel, three groups stand out for their susceptibility to what Dr. Ash calls “fake news” about the vaccine: Arabs, Russian immigrants, and young women. At the request of the Israeli government, Facebook has removed “deliberately mendicant” Hebrew-language content claiming the vaccine was a poison designed to kill the population and implant tracking chips in bodies. “Some young women,” she adds, “are afraid to risk losing their fertility. This has no basis.”
But the government could have turned the corner with another group – the ultra-Orthodox – which has also resisted state leadership. “These groups are influenced by their rabbis,” says Dr. Ash, “and we’ve had good discussions with the rabbis about vaccinations. They’re encouraging people to get vaccinated, so now we’re doing pretty well.” The key is to convince narrow community leaders that vaccination makes sense. “There is no other way, either with ultra-Orthodox groups or with Arabs,” although with the latter group, the division is not religious: “We work with mayors and local leaders. They can get the message out to their people much better than I can. ”
One way to overcome vaccine resistance, he says, is by inciting a Green Pass. Israelis can download an app that verifies that they have been vaccinated or have recovered from Covid. This allows ticket holders to enter gyms, hotels, concert halls and other out-of-bounds spaces for those who are not immune.
What about the Palestinians? Israeli critics argue that it has not done enough for them. Dr. Ash responds that the Palestinian Authority has its own vaccine contracts and is part of the World Health Organization’s Covax initiative for low- and middle-income countries, but also points to a pattern of contacts between his team and the administrators of Palestine. territories.
Israelis and Palestinians, he adds, “share a very small territory, with many interconnections.” Many Arab Israelis go back and forth to the West Bank and Palestinians come to Israel to work. “Therefore, the disease definitely binds us, and they will be vaccinated. Not only for their own good, but also for ours. ”
Varadarajan, a contributor to the Journal, is a member of the American Enterprise Institute and the Classical Liberal Institute at New York University.
Wonder Land: Today we are on a path to normalcy, not because of politicians and media enforcement officials. Our appreciation goes to medical staff who cared for patients and discovered treatments on the fly. And private vaccine developers. Images: Reuters / AFP via Getty Composite: Mark Kelly
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