Coronavirus: Israel vaccinates 500,000th person against COVID-19

• Date: 29 December 2020
• Author: MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN
• Published date: 29 December 2020
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Herzl Levy from the Neveh Ya'acov neighborhood of the capital was vaccinated in the presence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein. His wife, Padilla, was also vaccinated.

"We are ahead of the world in bringing and administering vaccines," the prime minister said. "Israel is the world champion in vaccines, in first place. My task now is to ensure that we continue at this pace and we work on it together."

He said that "we will strive to administer as many vaccines as possible, quickly, but first of all, to the population at risk, as that is where most of the tragic mortality and morbidity is concentrated. Only then can we open the economy, help businesses, and return to normal life. This is our goal: to get life back on track as quickly as possible."

The vaccination event was also attended by Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion, as well as the head of the Clalit health fund Prof. Ehud Davidson and the fund's chairman Yohanan Locker.

"Prime minister," said Edelstein, "at this rate, we will also invite you to the millionth vaccination."

Earlier in the day, Edelstein celebrated that the number of Israelis vaccinated against the coronavirus is now higher than the number of those who have been infected with the virus since the beginning of the outbreak - around 410,000 people.

A quarter of people between the ages of 70- and 79-years-old have been vaccinated thus far, the Health Ministry reported. At the same time, 20% of Israelis in their 60s, 18% in their 80s and 11% in their 90s have also been jabbed.

Some 1,765 Israelis under the age of 20 were vaccinated, with some 12 children under the age of 10 vaccinated, despite regulations banning children under the age of 16 from receiving the vaccination.

The city leading the country in the total number of vaccinations is Tel Aviv, with almost 27,000 vaccinations as of Tuesday morning, followed by Jerusalem in second place. The city with the highest percentage of vaccinations per capita was Arad, followed by Kiryat Shmona.

In contrast to the Jewish sector, members of the Arab community appear to be the least likely to get inoculated, the report showed. A number of Arab communities in Israel were listed among the bottom 15 cities in terms of vaccinations, with some cities listed with only a few dozen citizens vaccinated so far.

Ayman Saif, who serves as the coronavirus liaison to the Arab community, said in an interview with Israel media that he is concerned that the Arab sector will not...