Following a period of calm in which the coronavirus appeared to be other countries' problem, reality has come knocking on Israel's door.
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Outbreaks at schools in Modiin and Binyamina and a concert in Beit Shan remind us that the pandemic has not passed on from the world. In the Seychelles and the United Arab Emirates, morbidity is once again on an alarming rise despite those country's high inoculation rates.
The spread of the variant originally detected in India in these countries, combined with the low efficacy of vaccines such as those from AstraZeneca have led places like Britain to push back the reopening of their economies to July.
Fortunately for us, the State of Israel chose to vaccinate its citizens with Pfizer's vaccine, which is 92% effective at preventing morbidity from the original virus found in China and 88% effective in preventing morbidity from the Indian variant. Nevertheless, Pfizer's vaccine has been found to be 90% effective at preventing serious morbidity among those infected with either version of the virus. Above all else, these findings are an indication of the importance role vaccines play as the only effective means for preventing the virus' spread.
For as long as the pandemic sticks around, we expect to see the spread of increasingly resilient variants of the disease. From a biological perspective, viruses constantly undergo genetic mutations, with the more infectious and vaccine-resistant spreading and infecting more people. The advantage of both Pfizer's and Moderna's COVID vaccines is that they can both be quickly adapted to new mutations. Seeing as the State of Israel also signed an agreement for the acquisition of vaccines in 2022, the assessment is that the new vaccines will have been adjusted to take on new variants of the disease.
In the meantime, many parents of teenagers aged 12 to 15 are now contemplating whether to vaccinate their children. In a majority of cases, morbidity in children is not serious. Nevertheless, quite a few children who recover from the coronavirus develop post corona syndrome, which includes symptoms such as fatigue and the loss of the sense of smell and taste that can last for months.
As long as coronavirus cases in Israel were isolated, the Health Ministry did not take a firm stance on the vaccination of children, outside of the recommendation to inoculate those suffering from chronic illness, individuals with immunocompromised family members, and children flying overseas who would be exposed to higher levels of morbidity at their destination. Another advantage to those flying overseas was the exemption from quarantine for the vaccinated and those that have recovered from the virus. With the Indian variant now spreading inside Israel, the recommendation has changed. The Health Ministry's epidemiological division has now issued a sweeping recommendation to vaccinate all teens aged 12 to 15.
Overseas arrivals in Israel, and the coronavirus testing stations at Ben-Gurion Airport in particular, have been a weak point for the State of Israel since the start of the outbreak. The same is true of the lack of enforcement of and dismissive public attitude toward quarantine guidelines. So, for example, a parent that failed to observe mandatory quarantine is responsible for one of the most recent outbreaks of the disease.
These isolated outbreaks should be a warning to decision-makers. The State of Israel has already ordered the enlistment of hundreds of police officers to aid in efforts to ramp up enforcement. The government should also act quickly to prepare plans to contend with more complicated scenarios and more significant outbreaks. The most important thing though is that we, the Israeli public, make an effort to ensure Israel remains a green island in this global pandemic.
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