This is scary and does not bode well for the United States, given that we are only 53% fully vaccinated, and 60% at least partly vaccinated, haven’t even started boosters for all but a tiny percentage of immune-compromised people, and have fewer pandemic-related restrictions and precautions than Israel does. Israel was one of the first countries to vaccinate widely with MRNA vaccines, and one of the first to achieve high vaccination rates, about a month ahead of the United States, so Israel is like a canary in the coal mine for the United States. Israel is also among the most vaccinated countries in the world, with the most effective vaccines, so it’s an example of the best that vaccines can do. If even Israel is experiencing this spike, it means that the the United States is in for an even worse spike next month, even after starting boosters.
Israel’s COVID-19 cases are still spiking, greatly surpassing their previous all-time highs (including those of last winter, before they vaccines were available). This is despite the Israeli population being 69% at least partially vaccinated, and 63% fully vaccinated, and 33% third boostered, almost entirely with Pfizer vaccines:
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Israeli death rates and hospitalization rates are going up in Israel as well, though not as rapidly as infection rates:
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Of the serious cases being admitted to hospital in Israel, around 60 percent of patients were people who had been fully vaccinated, as of Sept. 1, 2021: www.cbc.ca/…
Israel began vaccinating kids age 12-15 in early June: www.timesofisrael.com/…
By August 24, 2021, Israelis aged 12-15, 42.4 percent had received one or more doses of the vaccine. This figure rises to 79.6 percent among those teenagers between 16-19: www.haaretz.com/…
The US has even lower vaccination rates for teens. As of July 31, 2021, coverage with ≥1 dose of COVID-19 vaccine among US adolescents aged 12–17 years was 42%, and 32% had completed the series. Series completion rates varied widely by state, ranging from 11% to 60%, and was 25% for adolescents aged 12–13 years, 30% for those aged 14–15 years, and 40% for those aged 16–17 years: www.cdc.gov/...
Can anyone explain why Israel is still experiencing a spike in COVID-19 cases? Is there anything that the United States is doing better than Israel, that might suggest we will avoid going through the same spike in a month or two? Or are we doomed to soon experience even more COVID, overwhelmed hospitals, and deaths than we already have now?