Israel's fastest-in-the world vaccine campaign, which reached half its citizens as of Sunday, is offering other countries the first real-life look at how mass inoculation can bend the trajectory of the coronavirus pandemic.
Israel's small population of about 9 million, and its universal national health system, makes it a natural vaccine lab for the world.
Experts are split on what the studies show about how contagious people remain after they are vaccinated, a key issue in slowing the infection's spread. Nor has Israel yet become the example the world craves of life returning to normal.
Within weeks of Israel giving its first vaccinations in late December, snap studies were obtained by the media, tweeted by their authors and publicized by research institutions.
"That is the most important finding in Israel so far - that when it comes to protecting the health-care system, the vaccine is winning," said Ronni Gamzu, Israel's former coronavirus "Czar" and the head of Tel Aviv's Sourasky Medical Center, one of the country's largest hospitals.
Israel's rapid vaccine deployment is being closely watched around the world, as other nations grapple with their own uneven rollouts amid growing public frustration over health restrictions.
The data from Israel "Shows what you can do when you have an intact health system and a simplified, streamlined health system like Israel's," said Peter J. Hotez, a vaccine and infectious diseases expert at Baylor College of Medicine.
Monday, March 1, 2021
Israel's ahead-of-the-world vaccine rollout offers hope for countries lagging behind
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