When the Israeli media reports that "the Arab population isn't going in for vaccinations," we should understand who that public is and why they aren't. Being a relatively young population, the over-60 sector comprises only 8% of Arab Israelis. That group finds it harder to get around and has less interaction with the rest of Israeli society. Arab Israelis age 60 and over are also less commonly in the workforce, so they have less motivation to get vaccinated. They tend not to use digital technology, so it takes them longer to make appointments.
In the first wave, the Arab population served as an example of excellence in handling the COVID crisis. Cases in Arab communities did not make up more than 5% of total cases nationwide. But starting in October, we have seen new cases among Arab Israelis spike as a result of gatherings and social events like weddings, as well as a release of tension after the first lockdown was lifted. These events could have mostly been prevented if there had been enough outreach and enforcement, but that, of course, requires resources.
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Arab local authorities have suffered from government neglect for years, as well as chronic shortages of budgets and poor infrastructure for education, healthcare, and transportation, which do not allow residents to lead functional lives. Nevertheless, these communities threw themselves into the battle against COVID in the first wave, with all the community players – from civil society groups to NGOs – stepping up. But in October their last resources ran out, and without government support, the situation began to get out of control.
The Arab population in Israel is in danger due to a high rate of chronic illness and desperate poverty. You don't need to be an expert on equality of healthcare services to see that things are doubly difficult because of the lack of infrastructure, the density, and preexisting differences. Unfortunately, not even COVID has caused the policymakers to change anything when it comes to these discrepancies between Arab and Jewish communities, and new ones have emerged. Not enough has been invested in enforcement, outreach, or quarantine in Arab communities, and contact tracing has not been adjusted to the complicated and crowded reality there. Even when Arab doctors and nurses are on the frontline in hospitals, Arab healthcare professionals were not looped in on the decision-making process for handling COVID in their own communities.
Now the government needs to help the Arab Israeli public get vaccinated by making vaccines accessible. This demands a dedicated program of outreach, with messages that can compete with the fake anti-vax news; additional vaccination stations – there are relatively few in Arab communities – adjusting the vaccination protocol to include people in their 40s, and helping the elderly and disabled to the vaccination centers. And it wouldn't hurt if all that happened in Arabic.
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