Health Minister Yuli Edelstein said this morning that almost 3 million Israelis have received their second coronavirus vaccine and 4.377 million Israelis have received at least one vaccine dose. With that, Israel has administered the most coronavirus vaccine doses per capita in the world. Thus, tiny Israel leads the world with its successful coronavirus vaccination efforts. The international press has turned Israel into a major focus of its attention, worthy of study because of its comprehensive program. Data and experience accumulated by Israel could serve as a future reference for vaccination programs elsewhere.
Still, a detailed look into the nationwide vaccination drive shows disparities between cities and sectors. The 10 leading localities with the highest vaccination rates are all affluent Jewish-secular towns. Jewish-Arab mixed cities such as Ramle and Lod show 50% to 25% vaccination rates only. Arab towns and villages show even lower rates. In fact, the Health Ministry reported last week that 23% of Israeli-Arabs had received at least one dose of the vaccine, compared to 33% of ultra-Orthodox Jews and 49% of other Jewish Israelis. These numbers are better than the ones registered at the beginning of the vaccination drive, but obviously not enough.
