fbpx

REQUEST A CONSULTATION

Ready to contact us for a consultation about your condition and our medical services? The staff of our Global Patient Services is ready to help. Please select the appropriate button to get started.
search
Covid-19

Prof. Gili Regev-Yochay: “Israel Has Achieved Herd Immunity Against COVID-19”

Israel Has Achieved Herd Immunity Against COVID-19
After leading the world in COVID-19 vaccinations per capita, experts say Israel is the first country to achieve herd immunity

Although its vaccination campaign slowed down in recent months, Israel continues to lead the world’s fight against COVID-19 with almost 60 percent of its population fully vaccinated. Of those remaining, the vast majority are under the age of 18. Due largely to the great success of its swift and effective inoculation drive, the number of new daily COVID-19 cases in the country continues to decrease, which spurred the Israeli government to lift major restrictions on movement – one of the first countries in the world to do so. According to experts, Israel’s success stems, in large part, from the ability of its centralized, efficient and advanced healthcare system to rapidly distribute vaccine shots.

In the coming days, the Israeli Health Ministry is expected to approve the vaccination of children aged 12 and over following a similar approval by the FDA.

“We have reached herd immunity in Israel without vaccinating children,” said Prof. Gili Regev-Yochay, Director of the Infectious Disease Epidemiology Unit at Sheba Medical Center, who added: “The recommendation at the moment is to vaccinate the youth, but anyone can take it on a personal level and decide for themselves, there is no need to mandate their vaccination.”

Meanwhile, Israeli Health Minister, Yuli Edelstein, recently announced that Israel will not extend most domestic COVID-19 restrictions as the infection rate remains low throughout the country.
Edelstein said the decision, which will end all indoor and outdoor caps on gatherings, came following rigorous consultations with Health Ministry officials.

Related
Sheba Leverages ChatGPT
Accelerating Diagnostics: ChatGPT Results Aligned with Breast Cancer Board Recommendations
Recently, several distinguished Sheba clinicians were impressed by the tool’s capabilities. The group, which included Dr. Vera Sorin, Dr. Eyal Klang, Dr. Miri Sklair-Levy, Prof.…
Read More
Sheba and Vidac
Novel Drug Set to Improve CAR T-Cell Therapy Effectiveness
While many medical centers around the world depend on external labs to genetically engineer patient T-cells, a process that can take up to a few…
Read More
Sheba Named Global Oncology Leader
by Newsweek Magazine
Dedicated to providing those in need across the globe ‘Hope Without Boundaries,’ Sheba treats patients from more than 100 countries each year, employing the latest…
Read More