Public trust in the government and the healthcare system is an essential tool in curbing a pandemic, especially one as deadly as the coronavirus.
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Such trust is built when the public understands why guidelines and restrictions are needed and when it sees authorities act with transparency and do their utmost to minimize the damage caused by the virus.
The more the public trusts the state, the more it gets immunized and adheres to restrictions. In contrast, the more the government tries to cover up its mistakes and conceal vital information about inoculations, the less the public will respond.
It comes as no surprise then that after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and the Health Ministry reinstated the mask mandate indoors, Israelis did not rush to don them.
On Sunday, the ministry published a list of 90 health experts who have contributed significantly to Israel's success in curbing the pandemic. As wonderful as that it, it still has not revealed the bulk of information related to how it makes decisions when it comes to the virus.
In addition, in October 2020, then-Director-General Professor Hezi Levi decided that the investigation into the treatment of thousands of coronavirus patients would be embargoed forever, with only the findings to be published. Although Levi's decision falls under the Patient's Bill of Rights, one cannot help but wonder whether that was an attempt at covering up information.
The ministry also falls short of instilling confidence in the public when it comes to vaccines by refusing to disclose all the information about the doses.
So, in the last few days, Israelis have received fragmented pieces of data regarding the third booster shot, the new vaccine agreement with Pzifer and contradicting information by top health experts about the inoculations.
Israel is going through another spike in morbidity with hundreds of new cases every day. The spread of the highly contagious variant could potentially lead to a fourth wave of infections. The ministry must leave its old patterns of cover-ups behind, for otherwise, it puts people's lives at risk.
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