According to Health Ministry data released Thursday, four children are hospitalized in critical condition with the coronavirus, as are six women who are either pregnant or have just given birth. They are all intubated.
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In total, 38 babies under 1 year of age are hospitalized, one of which is in serious condition. There are 48 pregnant women hospitalized, six of whom are in serious condition. In addition, the country's reproduction rate, which according to a report by the military task force on the coronavirus has been on the rise for four straight days, now stands at 0.93.
For the first time, the California variant of the virus has been identified in Israel, with seven new cases found to be of the mutation. Another 444 individuals have been found to be carrying the South African variant.
Israel's infection rate stood at 5.9%, Wednesday, the lowest recorded since Jan. 2. Of the 75,836 people who tested for the coronavirus, Wednesday, 4,298 were found to be infected with COVID-19.
There are currently 40,810 active cases of the virus, 770 of which are serious. Of those in serious condition, 249 are on ventilators. So far, 5,673 people have died from the disease, and 718,782 have recovered.
According to the Health Ministry, 3,209,993 people have received both doses of Pfizer's vaccine, while 4,598,197 have received the first dose.
Also on Wednesday, scores of Israelis vaccinated against COVID-19 attended an open-air concert in Tel Aviv Wednesday, one of the first in a program to restart cultural events by restricting attendance to people who have been vaccinated or those with immunity after contracting the disease.
Attendees were required to show a "Green Pass," a government-validated certificate showing they had received both doses of the vaccine more than a week before the event or that they had recovered from COVID-19 and were presumed immune. The passes are valid for six months from the time of full vaccination.
"It provides protection, but also a feeling of comfort to sit among people who are vaccinated," said Doron Zicher, a retired businessman who was preparing to watch singer Nurit Galron perform at dusk in Yarkon Park.
"After a year staying at home in a sort of isolated environment it feels great to go out and experience public shows and activities," he said.
Israel launched the pass scheme over the weekend as it reopened its economy. Nearly half of Israelis have received the first of two required doses.
Gyms, swimming pools, theaters, and hotels are open to pass-holders only. Once inside, strict caps on occupancy and social distancing requirements are enforced.
Such programs are likely to be scrutinized by other countries looking to reopen for business as their own populations undergo mass vaccination.
Health officials in Israel, which has led the world with its fast roll-out using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, hope the scheme will act as an incentive for vaccine skeptics.
Israeli studies have shown the Pfizer vaccine reduces transmission of the virus.
"If I need to go to a cultural place where they don't ask for the green passport, I wouldn't go," said Michal Porat, 66. "I want to know and to be sure that all the people that are next to me are already immune and vaccinated, and I wouldn't trust people who are not."
In the United States, the Food and Drug Agency confirmed the effectiveness of Johnson & Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine on Wednesday, in documents made public two days before a meeting of its advisory committee to examine its urgent authorization in the US.
The vaccine proved 85.9% effective against severe forms of the disease in the United States, 81.7% in South Africa, and 87.6% in Brazil.
In early February, pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson applied for conditional authorization of its COVID-19 vaccine with the American health authorities.
If it gets the green light from the FDA, this vaccine would be the third authorized in the United States, after those of Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna.
The FDA is expected to grant the authorization because it has two significant advantages in terms of logistics. The vaccine can be stored at refrigerator temperatures, which would greatly facilitate its distribution. Also, it only needs to be administered in a single dose.
The likely authorization comes at an important time, with the US having just marked its 500,000th coronavirus victim since the pandemic began almost a year ago.
Meanwhile, researchers at Haifa's Rambam Medical Health Care Campus and Ziv Medical Center in Safed have initiated a Phase 2 clinical trial of a promising new treatment for COVID-19.
These trials are testing TXA27, a compound developed by Boston-based biopharmaceutical company Constant Therapeutics "We are examining the use of a drug based on a naturally occurring peptide called Angiotensin that prevents cell proliferation and inflammation in the lungs," said Professor Karl Skorecki, dean of Bar-Ilan University in the Galilee's Azrieli School of Medicine.
Professor Skorecki estimates that the Israeli trial will be completed within four months. Coronavirus mutations would not affect the effectiveness of treatment, according to Dr. Etty Kruzel-Davila, a senior nephrologist at Rambam Health Care Campus, who is leading the trial.
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