Israel on a path to virus free reality

ISRAEL is on track to vaccinate its entire population by March, before Australia has even started its COVID jab program.

An Australian living in Tel Aviv says that the country’s efficient health system had shown remarkable speed on the issue.

Paul Israel’s (pictured) inlaws have already had their jab, and his wife was due to have one next week.

More than 1 million Israelis have already had the first dose of the Pfizer jab, with the country on track for 2 million vaccinations by the end of January.

The entire country’s 10 million residents could be vaccinated by March, in time for a national election, where President Benjamin Netanyahu is d e s p e r a t e l y trying to hold on to power. But Mr Israel said that Israel’s competitive care set up, where four health maintenance organisations (HMOs) compete for patients across the country, was behind the efficiency of the rollout.

“The HMOs, all four are national. When I moved here in 1983 it was a disgrace,” he said.

“But they went digital early, all patient records are digital. In my neighbourhood there are a few thousand families and there are two HMOs.

“This is one area that Israel has done really well in.”

Israel has been able to store and distribute the Pfizer vaccine quickly, even though it must be kept at -70C.

The elderly and those with underlying health conditions have been prioritised, but some doses have been given to younger people, including carers, to avoid waste. Mr Israel, who is director of the Israel-Australia Chamber of Commerce, said that a major advertising campaign was run to encourage people to take the vaccine.

“There were people who were super cynical, but they did a campaign with celebrities on prime time TV and it turned around really quickly,” he said.