Israel is organized as one of the most advanced vaccination campaigns in the world. Having already given more than one and a half million vaccines, about one in six Israelis have now been given the first dose of the Pfizer-Biontech vaccine.
Over the past few days, Israel has vaccinated between 100,000 and 150,000 citizens each day, and more than half of people over 60 received their first injection, at twice the rate at which it was the previously expected local health system. This success raises an obvious question to the rest of the world: what lessons are to be learned?
Israel has benefited from the success of its health care system. There are public health care providers, there is universal provision, and it is funded by progressive wage taxes. All Israelis are members of one of four public health currencies, which compete with each other, creating a system that is efficient and flexible.
Vaccine companies have shown great interest in the spread of Israel due to the high levels of digitization of the health system and complete record-keeping practices. The smooth interface between medical databases, hospitals and GPs should enable Israel to generate fast and large-scale data on the efficacy and impact of vaccine distribution.
In addition, three critical decisions were made when the vaccine was introduced. The first was to prioritize speed. Vaccine clinics have no paperwork. Reaching out displays magnetic cards of their health fund’s membership, answering a few questions, and getting the injection. The whole process takes a minute or two.
Second, to allow demand to be ordered in order rather than to focus too tightly on target groups. Residents of care homes received the vaccine in targeted operations – most 100 per cent care homes will be rotated by next week – but in addition all older residents have been invited than 60 to get vaccinated. Hospitals have also opened their doors to get members of any health fund vaccinated, such as a public service.
The third issue is flexibility. The Israeli health fund will allow its members to choose a place of vaccination anywhere in the country, allowing them to receive the vaccine further away from home by choosing an earlier date. Flexibility also means that people get the vaccine if they arrive early or even if they have no appointment at all – the Israelis already know that they can show up, no matter what age they are. they are, at the end of the day at vaccine clinics and if there are any more, they will get the vaccine.
Circulation of the vaccination centers makes the work easier. The journey takes place at hundreds of points across an area close to the size of Wales. Israel has received permission from Pfizer to split the standard dose of 1,000 doses to target towns and villages even though it still struggles to reach groups such as the elderly who cannot get to vaccine points.
The main challenge remains as healthcare providers approach the point where they must continue to deliver first doses while continuing to deliver a second one to more than 100,000 people a day. There are also concerns about a supply gap that could leave Israel with little choice but to wait for more deliveries from Pfizer of Moderna, whose vaccine was approved by Israeli regulators this week. Authorities may have no choice but to slow down the distribution of vaccines until these problems are resolved. At the same time, the country is embarking on a widespread resurgence of coronavirus cases – with more and more infectious with the variant first identified in the UK.
Israel is engaged in a tense race, between the gradual progression of the outbreak and the atypical growth of diseases, as it is hoped to be the first country to defeat the pandemic through vaccines. large. The world looks on.
Nadav Eyal is a columnist for Yediot Aharonot and a senior commentator for Reshet TV