Israel, UAE top Middle East vaccination rates
Other countries in the region have only just recently imported vaccines, and the status of vaccination in Iran and Syria in particular is unclear.
Middle Eastern countries have begun the process of vaccinating their citizens against the coronavirus. The rate by which people are receiving the vaccine varies greatly across the region.
Israel leads the region in COVID-19 vaccinations per capita. Around 1.7 million Israelis have received their first vaccine dose. This puts Israel’s vaccination dosage administering rate at a world-high 19.55 out 100 people, according to the Oxford-based Our World in Data science website.
On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to vaccinate every Israeli over the age of 16 by the end of March.
There is controversy in Israel about the current lack of vaccinations for Palestinians. Israel is administering vaccines to citizens in Israel proper, in addition to Palestinians in Jerusalem who live under Israeli jurisdiction. Israeli settlers in the West Bank — a territory considered occupied by Israel under international law — are also receiving vaccines. Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza are not, however.
