Israel ranks no. 1 in COVID-19 vaccine doses administered per capita
According to the recent data, Israel and the UK outrank other countries by far, with Israel ranking at 0.83%, followed by the UK with 0.74%.
By TOBIAS SIEGALPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the arrival of the first batch of Pfizer coronavirus vaccines in Israel (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Only three days after launching its nationwide coronavirus vaccination campaign, Israel now ranks first in the world in the number of COVID-19 vaccination doses administered per 100 people, according to official data collected by Our World in Data and published on Wednesday.According to the recent data, Israel and the UK outrank other countries by far, with Israel ranking at 0.83%, followed by the UK with 0.74%. The US is next with a much lower rank of 0.19%. The world average stands on 0.03%.As more and more Israelis are getting vaccinated for coronavirus, it seems like the ongoing endeavors of providing vaccines from different companies around the world paid off. With doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines already available and with more AstraZeneca vaccines expected to arrive, it looks like Israel is heading towards a coronavirus-free population, perhaps sooner than expected.“Israel is the first country in the world to vaccinate its citizens against the coronavirus,” Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said on Wednesday, adding that the country will be “significantly increasing the rate of vaccinations starting next week.”Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu added that the data reflects the hard work of the recent months. “We’ve worked endlessly, and now we’re seeing the results,” he said. Following reports of long waiting times and various logistical issues with making appointments to be vaccinated, it seems like the country’s health funds have repositioned themselves to allow better and more efficient service as part of the national vaccination effort. Tami Alkalai, head nurse at Maccabi Health Fund, told N12 that “people are cooperating. They arrive on time and in an orderly manner,” she said. “We’ve improved the waiting times ... people will receive a response within seconds,” she added.On Wednesday, the Health Ministry announced that starting next week, hospitals throughout the country will also start administering coronavirus vaccines, joining clinics run by the country’s health funds in the effort to vaccinate as many citizens as fast as possible.Some 65,000 people were vaccinated in Israel on Wednesday, according to Edelstein, who expressed hope of increasing the pace even further. A total of 140,000 Israelis have been vaccinated so far.
