Even though governments' reactions to the coronavirus pandemic have largely been similar throughout the Western world, some argue that the response has been disproportionate to the level of threat posed.
Three Israeli scientists from Tel Aviv University, Profs Udi Kimron, Ariel Munitz, and Motti Gerlic, have formed the Common Sense Model, which advocates a shift of focus to the protection and care of at-risk groups, rather than imposing collective restrictions that aim to curb infections in society.
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Last week, when the government was deliberating on the possibility of a third lockdown, more than 100 Israeli physicians signed a letter excoriating the government's policies employed to combat the coronavirus.
"We strongly object to the coercive measures against the spread of the coronavirus," the letter stated.
"The coercive measures now deliberated constitute a destructive infringement of fundamental civil rights, and their enforcement lacks medical justification with a black flag raised above them."
A week later, Israel entered its third national lockdown, which was initially poised to last two weeks but could extend beyond that time frame, the head of Israel's coronavirus taskforce Professor Nachman Ash said.
"The people who made the calls were wrong from the beginning and it is very hard for them to accept it," Dr. Tomer Cooks, a faculty member at the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Genetics at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev said. "To them, it doesn't matter that data from all over the world showed that there is no positive correlation between masks or lockdowns and success.
"I have objected to the lockdown idea since February. There is no logic in applying such brute force on the entire society.
"At least in March it was forgiven; panic was everywhere and many felt it would save us. But after so much time has passed, how can we still support this madness?"
Meanwhile, Israel continues its vaccination drive that started on Dec. 19, with the jab administered to almost a million citizens. Health-care providers give roughly 150,000 shots a day. The government's top priority are Israelis over the age of 60, at-risk patients, and healthcare workers.
According to Health Minister Yuli Edelstein, starting January 10 and running through the end of the month, the vaccination centers will only serve those who have already received the first out of the two necessarry doses, so that they can follow up with scheduled booster shots.
Director General of the Health Ministry Hezi Levi said during a press conference Thursday that the vaccination of the younger population will begin in February, pointing out that Israel is the world leader in the number of vaccines administered per 100 people and that Health Ministry's goal is to innoculate 5 million Israelis by March 2021.
Several citizens outside the vulnerable cohorts have already managed to get vaccinated, often as clinic "walk-ins" who secured surplus injections that would otherwise have had to be thrown away at the end of the day.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing another election in March, said on Sunday that the vaccination program could allow the country to emerge from the pandemic as early as February.
Israel is vaccinating Palestinians in east Jerusalem. In Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip, the first shipments of vaccines are expected in two weeks, Palestinian officials said, without providing details on their number or manufacturer.
As of midweek, 652 Israelis who received a Pfizer vaccination reported mild side effects, including pain, tiredness, dizziness, limited range of motion, and neurological symptoms like blurred vision.
Nineteen Israelis reported numbness or tingling of the tongue, a phenomenon that worried the Epidemic Management Team the most, as it was not reported as one of the side effects of the Pfizer study. The Team contacted Pfizer who replied that other countries also reported this side effect, but no special treatment is needed for it, and patients can go ahead and receive the second dose of the vaccine.
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Meanwhile, the Health Ministry reported Friday that of the 101,000 tests conducted the day before, 5,804 came back positive, raising the positivity rate to 5.7%.
There are currently 45,373 active cases in the country. Some 1,102 patients are being hospitalzied, of those, 678 are in critical condition and 178 are on ventilaltors.
Israel has reported 426,749 coronavirus cases since the outbreak of the pandemic in March. The current death toll stands at 3,338.
This article was first published by i24NEWS
