Anemone Kay, The director of the vaccination campaign at Clalit Health Services spoke today (Tuesday) with Anat Davidov on 103FM and tried to explain the decrease in the response to vaccines and even talked about their effectiveness against the mutations. According to her, after the age of the vaccinators dropped to 35, the response rate dropped. “People think the vaccine is mainly for people with background illnesses,” she claimed, warning: “We are losing time.”
We have been hearing in recent days that the number of vaccinated is declining. It’s not like the beginning, is there an explanation for it?
“The explanation is partial. The first priority populations established by the Ministry of Health, of the elderly and chronically ill, were vaccinated on a very large scale. Fortunately, we reach large percentages. More than 80 percent of these populations have already received the first dose, and half have already received the second dose. “The vaccine among the elderly and the chronically ill population is advanced and we have reached beautiful achievements.”
“The problems are in the younger populations,” she explained. “The Ministry of Health now allows us to vaccinate people aged 35 and over, and this group has less response than we expected. The rate of vaccination is not high among teenagers aged 16-18. We hoped to vaccinate at least 60-70 percent of this population, but the amount is lower and stands at about 40 Percent”.
The youth are in no hurry to get vaccinated and so are the teaching staffs around the country, despite the call from many sources to reopen the education system as early as next week.
“At the moment, only about 50 percent of the teaching staff that is insured with Clalit have been vaccinated, and that is not much“If we want to open up the education system next week, and in order to prevent the spread of the epidemic in schools and educational institutions, it is very important that a high percentage of teachers be vaccinated.”
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Why are so many who can get vaccinated yet to do so?
“Some people are worried. People think the vaccine is mainly for people with background illnesses, they think corona is dangerous only for those who suffer from background illnesses. People are wrong about that. In the last two or three weeks, we see serious illness even among people without background illnesses,” Kay stressed. For populations that can come and get vaccinated: “From Sunday we see a significant slowdown in the number of vaccinated. We have open areas, we have vaccines. People need to come and get vaccinated, because time is precious and every day that passes and the plague is not stopped, we lose time.”
Later, Kay talked about the effectiveness of the vaccines also against the various mutations of the virus that have been discovered in recent weeks. “It’s important to understand, According to Pfizer’s studies, the vaccine is also effective against the new mutations that are developing. “Maybe not to the same extent and maybe not at 95 percent efficacy, but the vaccine certainly also protects against mutations, reduces disease intensity, reduces infection and risk,” she said, adding: “If we want to get back to routine as much as possible, the only way to do that is Through a high percentage of vaccinated. As we slow down the rate of immunization, the rate of return to routine will slow down“.
Why not develop the vaccine for everyone?
“We work in accordance with the guidelines of the Ministry of Health. As soon as they inform another, we will do so. In places where there is a fear of vaccination, we receive spot approval to invite people to get vaccinated. Regarding the issue of opening to all populations, I think the goal is not to create an attack.”
Inside such, Professor Eyal Leshem From Sheba Hospital, he spoke with Ben Caspit and Aryeh Eldad on their program on 103FM and told them about the effectiveness of the vaccines, reassured them about the various fears arising from the side effects of the vaccine and repeated the call for the public to come and get vaccinated. “Intelligent people are afraid to get the vaccine because they are getting incorrect and incorrect information,” Leshem explained.
“Intelligent people are afraid to receive the vaccine because they are receiving incorrect and incorrect information,” Prof. Leshem said of the reason behind the slowdown in the rate of immunization in recent days, and sought to reassure those who fear: “More than a million residents have already completed the two vaccine doses, a week has passed since they received the second vaccine dose, and we do not see any significant or severe side effects among the vaccinated. Tens of millions have been vaccinated worldwide and no side effects have been reported yet. There is no doubt that this is a safe vaccine. “
The vaccination complex in Rabin Square (Photo: Avshalom Shashoni)He also referred to the growing morbidity figures, despite vaccinations and closure: “Infection and morbidity occur mainly in unvaccinated people. Now there are 8000 verified cases a day, and still half the economy is closed and schools are closed. Once they open, we will increase and double the pace and in a few weeks we will be More than 10,000 are verified a day, no matter how many are vaccinated. “
“As long as we have people at risk who are not protected, we will see serious illness. The main effort should be in patient, accurate and scientific information, for people who are afraid and hesitant, who read on Google instead of asking the family doctor and experts,” Prof. Leshem stressed. “A person who is in a risk group and not vaccinated, puts his soul in his palm. At Sheba Hospital there are dozens of patients aged 50-70 who arrived in a very difficult situation, and we are fighting for their lives because of a disease that is preventable by a safe and effective vaccine.”
In addition, Leshem explained how the vaccine against corona works: “The body is exposed to a molecule called RNA messenger. Our body is exposed thousands of times a year to the RNA of various viruses. When we are exposed to this molecule in the form of a vaccine it is exactly the same, as when our children are vaccinated against measles or when women who want to get pregnant get vaccinated to the ground. . This is a completely physiological mechanism, our body is used to being exposed to this substance and developing immunity to such proteins. We learn that the vaccine reduces severe morbidity. Even if you are infected, you are not seriously ill“.