By the end of March, Israel will be able to administer 5 million first doses of vaccines for coronavirus, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said Sunday afternoon at a briefing with senior Health Ministry staff.
Edelstein instructed his staff to look into the possibility of vaccinating the public at night, as well, to reach the maximum number of people.
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Meanwhile, another shipment of some 700,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine was scheduled to arrive in Israel Sunday afternoon.
The ministry announced Saturday that four cases of the highly contagious South African coronavirus variant have been discovered in Israel over the weekend.
The disturbing development comes as Israel's vaccination drive continues to lead the world in inoculations, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing to defeat the infection by the end of March thanks to his agreement with pharmaceutical giant Pfizer earlier this week.
The new strain was reportedly discovered after testing a traveler who recently returned from South Africa and family members of another individual who had traveled from there.
All individuals traveling from the UK or South Africa where new highly contagious coronavirus strains have recently been discovered must quarantine at special state-run hotels for at least 12 days.
Pfizer said that initial vaccine testing against the new strain discovered in the UK has so far been effective, with promising results also emerging from the South African variant, but more study is still required.
However, the Military Intelligence unit tracking the pandemic reported that according to preliminary studies, the South African mutation is resistant to antibodies and can therefore infect recovered COVID patients. The report stressed that "further research is needed to determine the mutation's resistance to the vaccine."
According to the report, the mutation first appeared in eastern Cape Town and has come to dominate the region within weeks.
South African authorities speculate that the highly-contagious variant might be the reason for the current rise in coronavirus morbidity, especially among young people.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry reported Sunday that of the 81,858 tests taken the day before, 5,030 came back positive, setting infection rates at 6.3%.
There are currently 69,160 active coronavirus cases in Israel, with 1,710 people hospitalized. Some 293 are listed as being in critical condition, with 231 on ventilators. Some 5,680 healthcare workers are in quarantine, including 671 doctors and 1,466 nurses. Israel's death toll currently stands at 3,596.
Edelstein tweeted Sunday that the first three weeks of the vaccination campaign have been a great success.
"Yesterday [Saturday] we began administering the second dose. We have so far vaccinated 1,817,999 people with the first dose. More vaccine shipments are expected to arrive today [Sunday]." The minister called on his followers to get vaccinated and follow the lockdown rules.
Pfizer vaccines are expected to arrive in Israel throughout the week, with 100,000 doses arriving at Ben-Gurion International Airport on Sunday.
According to Health Ministry data, 72% of Israelis over the age of 60 have already received the first dose of inoculation. Sixty percent of Arab Israelis over the age of 60 have been vaccinated. The education staff is expected to start receiving their vaccines this week.
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