The number of coronavirus cases in Israel has dropped sharply for the first time in several months, and now the number of hospitalizations is decreasing – this is a sign that the effect of the revaccination program is beginning to manifest, writes the Daily Mail.
The country now has an average of fewer than 4,000 COVID infections each day, up from more than 11,000 at the peak of the third wave on September 14, more than at any other time in the pandemic.
Cases have been in free fall for several weeks now, despite Israeli schoolchildren returning from summer break this month and a record number of tests deployed in classrooms.
Recent trends suggest the beginning of the end of the rapid increase in infections in recent months, which was believed to be caused by weakening of the immune system and the spread of the highly contagious variant of the Delta coronavirus.
Israel launched its groundbreaking COVID vaccine booster program in July in response to a growing wave that initially targeted people over the age of 60 and then expanded to everyone 12 and older who had already received a double dose of the vaccine.
The number of people admitted to the hospital with the virus every week has declined over the past month, which Israeli scientists believe is the result of increased immunity after the third dose.
Statistics compiled by the Our World in Data Research Group at Oxford University show that in the week before September 26, the most recent date, there were 110 people per million, up from about 165 per million on August 29.
Last week, the UK launched its own booster vaccination program, in which more than 30 million people aged 50 and over, physicians and carers, and patients with weak immune systems await their third shot.
Evidence from Israel shows that booster vaccinations reduce the risk of infection by 11 times and reduce the likelihood of people needing hospital care by 20 times.
A large study published September 15 in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) found that people over 60 who received the third dose were 11.3 times less likely to contract the Delta coronavirus two weeks after booster vaccination. More than 1.1 million Israelis took part in the study. It was also found that people who received the booster were 19.5 times less likely to be hospitalized with COVID than those who still relied on two-dose protection.
The latest data from the Israeli Ministry of Health show that the revaccination program provides reliable protection for the elderly, writes the Daily Mail. The incidence of severe coronavirus disease in people over 60 is currently nine times higher among those who received two doses of the vaccine compared to the triple vaccine – on September 25, it was 36 per 100 thousand in the group with two doses, compared with only four per 100 thousand in the group that received booster vaccinations. Among the completely unvaccinated, this figure is 170 people per 100 thousand.
The results obtained in Israel have not yet convinced UK health officials to recommend a mass revaccination campaign for younger age groups, the Daily Mail writes.
Vaccine Advisory Group # 10, the Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunizations (JCVI), believes that young people had higher immunity from two doses due to the unique UK vaccine dosing strategy. While Israel, the United States and many other countries have split the two doses of the vaccine over three weeks, the UK has extended that period to three months. At the time this decision was made, at the peak of the second wave, more punches in more hands were needed in the hope that partial protection for many, rather than complete protection for some, would reduce the epidemic.
Later studies showed that a wider gap gives stronger and longer lasting immunity. Britons are only invited to come for a booster vaccine if they received a second vaccine at least six months ago. The third doses will be allocated to nine key priority groups during the initial campaign, with older people, healthcare providers and caregivers again in the forefront. Pfizer shot doses or Moderna half dose will be given as boosters, regardless of which shot people were originally given, because studies have shown they were most effective at boosting immunity. Those who cannot receive either of these two mRNA shots, for example due to allergies, will be given a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Half the dose of Moderna was chosen because it was found to have fewer side effects but similar effectiveness. The UK also began vaccinating healthy children between the ages of 12 and 15 last week in hopes of containing the epidemic and preventing school closures this winter. They are now being offered a single dose of Pfizer.
Officials have yet to release figures on how many Brits received their third doses of the vaccine or how many children aged 12 to 15 received their first injection, despite both programs starting earlier this month. This comes after the UK’s COVID outbreak fell for the first time in nearly half a month at the end of the week. Another 36,480 cases were reported across the UK, down 0.6% from last Thursday. During the previous 12 days, the number of cases per week had been steadily increasing.
Children’s illnesses have skyrocketed since millions of young people returned to class after summer break. But now infections seem to be spreading to their parents as well, as reported earlier this week by MailOnline.
Meanwhile, the number of hospitalizations and deaths from COVID in Britain continued to decline: 657 people infected with the virus needed the help of the National Health Service (12% less than last week), and there were 137 deaths (a quarter decrease). …
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