South African variant reinfects three israelis

Israel’s Health Ministry said two Israelis who had recently recovered from the coronavirus have been reinfected by the variant first identified in South Africa, making a total of three such cases. The Health Ministry this week recorded an additional 14 confirmed cases of the South African variant in Israel, bringing the total to 44. Health officials believe the numbers are substantially higher. In January, a 57-year-old man from central Israel was reinfected with the South Africa coronavirus variant after returning from a trip to Turkey. Sharon Alroy-preis, the head of Israeli public health services, said, “We don’t have evidence yet that any of the variants are completely resistant to the vaccine, but there is some preliminary evidence to say that perhaps the effectiveness of the vaccine is somewhat less against the South African variant.”