Vaccination in Israel

Despite a surge in in COVID-19 cases and a new lockdown, Israel’s vaccination strategy seems to have promising results. Israel began vaccinating its population on December 19, after receiving an undisclosed amount of vaccine doses from Pfizer and BioNTech. The Ministry of Health was in charge of storing the vaccines in their required temperatures, and they were provided to health maintenance organizations and vaccination sites. Israel’s priority for vaccinations were initially those aged 60 years and older, and essential workers, as well as people aged 16-18 years old. The vaccine was open to pregnant women, and people pupils in 12th grade older than 18 years. As of January 25th, Israel has administered, over 3.96 million doses, with promising results so far. This data, however, is preliminary.

With regards to the vaccination drive in India, over 2 million healthcare workers across the country have received one of two vaccines, Covishield by Serum Institute of India, and Covaxin by Bharat Biotech. Depending on the vaccine, second doses will be administered 4-6 weeks after the first dose. The government has procured around 16.5 million doses for its target population, and will be procuring more over time.