IDF recommends Home Front Command oversee COVID-19 vaccine distribution

• Published date: 06 December 2020
• Date: 06 December 2020
• Author: MAAYAN JAFFE-HOFFMAN
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

The IDF, he said, is in conversation with coronavirus commissioner Prof. Nachman Ash about potentially establishing a vaccination system similar to the one set up to cut the chains of infection, although no decision has been finalized.

The first vaccines are expected to arrive in the country as early as this month. Pending approval by the US Food and Drug Administration, they would begin being administered in Israel. The health funds are expected to play a key role in the vaccination system as well.

The IDF's Alon Headquarters currently has some 3,000 soldiers and volunteers trained as epidemiological trackers and working under its direction. The senior official said that a tracker can now close the circle in less than 24 hours.

It has also begun working with two companies, through Sheba Medical Center, to carry out home testing, replacing Magen David Adom. The samples are brought to the lab. It is expected that some 100,000 samples could be processed during December.

"This week we started running two more laboratories to decipher tests, and later this month we will reach 100,000 a day," he stressed. "At the same time, there are three private laboratories that can perform 50,000 tests a day."

According to the original plan laid out by the Health Ministry, Israel should have carried out the number of tests in question daily, several months ago. Lately, an average of 60,000 people a day have been being screened for the virus.

The senior official also noted that there has been a significant improvement in public cooperation, following earlier reports that nearly half of all Israelis lie during epidemiological inquiries. He said that "during the month of November, we saw a significant and important improvement in this matter.

"We were getting around five contacts per...