Israel starts reopening as number of vaccinations nears 50%

PEOPLE in Israel are one step closer to returning to normalcy as the countr y’s economy began reopening after almost half the population received coronavirus vaccine shots.

Swathes of the countr y opened for business yesterday with shops available to all and access to g yms and theatres limited to those who had been inoculated and others who are immune after recovering from COVID- 19.

Access is granted by a “Green Pass” app, designed by the health ministr y, which is linked to personal medical files.

Social- distancing measures, however, are still in force, with dancing prohibited at banquet halls and synagogues, mosques and churches required to halve their usual number of worshippers.

The partial reopening of the economy was enabled by an ambitious vaccination drive after Israel became the biggest real- world coronavirus study. The government has signed an agreement with drug- maker Pfizer, promising to share vast troves of medical data in exchange for the continued flow of its vaccine.

Israel has administered at least one dose of the Pfizer- Biontech jab to more than 45 per cent of its population of nine million, the health ministry said. The two- shot regimen has reduced COVID- 19 infections by 95.8 per cent, ministry data showed.

“The vaccine was also 98 per cent effective in preventing fever or breathing problems and 98.9 per cent effective in preventing hospitalisations and death,” it said.

A promising study published on Saturday on healthcare workers in Israel found that one shot of the two- dose vaccine was 85 per cent effective, adding to the debate over the feasibility of spacing doses out further.