Israel's COVID data appears to be encouraging, with the reproduction rate in Israel down to 0.85, meaning a confirmed carrier infects 0.85 other people, according to a report published by Military Intelligence on Thursday morning.
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The drop in the reproduction rate comes after it reached 1 last week.
The percentage of positive COVID test results was also down. Tests processed in the last 24 hours identified 2,802 new cases, a positive rate of 2.9% -- the lowest Israel has seen in months, the report said.
As of Thursday morning there were 645 COVID patients hospitalized in serious condition, below the weekly average of 700.
There were a total of 36,712 active or symptomatic patients nationwide. Israel's COVID death toll since the pandemic hit the country in early 2020 continues to inch toward 6,000, standing at 5,955 fatalities.
The Corona Knowledge and Information Center, which issued the report, warned that despite the encouraging numbers, the country could still see a spike in new cases as a result of most business activity having been reopened. The authors also warned that recovered COVID patients were still at risk of contracting new variants, such as the South African or Brazilian strains of the virus.
Over 5 million Israelis have received a first dose of the COVID vaccine, and nearly 4 million (3,999,353) have received both doses.
Meanwhile, Israel has vaccine over 600 children aged 12-16 for COVID and none of them has shown serious side effects, Britain's Guardian newspaper reported Wednesday.
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The paper quoted Dr. Boaz Lev, who is directing Israel's vaccination campaign, saying that "We have not seen any serious side effects, only minor ones. The data is very encouraging."
The Guardian report said that some of the children vaccinated suffer from cystic fibrosis, a condition that affects the lungs and respiratory system. The paper noted that these vaccinations are not part of a clinical trial, and that pharmaceutical company Pfizer is currently working on a clinical trial of the vaccine in 15 and 16-year-olds.
In a related development, a new study by Tel Aviv University in conjunction with the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv has found that breastfeeding mothers vaccinated against the coronavirus produce a significant amount of antibodies that can be passed on to the baby through breast milk.
The objective of the research was to find out whether the Pfizer vaccine was effective in producing antibodies from nursing mothers, as well as determine the level of protection these antibodies offer to newborns.
The study was conducted in January and February on 10 vaccinated women.
The volunteers received two shots of the vaccine, 21 days apart, and the levels of antibodies in their blood and breast milk were tested four times.
"Encouraging data shows that vaccinating nursing mothers promotes the production of important antibodies in breast milk, thereby protecting their babies from disease," according to the study.
In blood and breast milk, the significant increase in antibodies occurs 14 days after the first injection and continues seven days after the second.
The researchers also found that the antibodies developing in breast milk had the potential to neutralize the virus.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
