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Senior Israeli health official says virus is ‘dying out,’ credits vaccine

“We currently have a little over 300 daily COVID cases. This is a very significant decline,” says Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, head of Public Health at the Israeli Health Ministry.

Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine seen on the production line. Credit: Mike Mareen/Shutterstock.
Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine seen on the production line. Credit: Mike Mareen/Shutterstock.

The head of Public Health at Israel’s Health Ministry said on Tuesday that the COVID-19 virus was “dying out” in the country, albeit slowly.

Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, the head of Public Health at Israel’s Health Ministry, said on Tuesday that the coronavirus in the country is “dying out” at a slower pace.

“We currently have a little over 300 daily COVID cases. This is a very significant decline. Most of the localities in Israel have low morbidity. Meanwhile, there are almost no significant virus concentrations and no hotspots at all,” said Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, according to Ynet.

The health official said that this would allow the further opening of the economy, as well as events such as weddings and concerts.

She attributed this success to Israel’s aggressive vaccination campaign; as of Wednesday, 4,878,839 Israelis had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with an additional 407,184 having received a single vaccine dose, according to Health Ministry data.

However, she added, “We still have large swaths of the population that have yet to get vaccinated, including a large number of children. That is why we will open the education system carefully, all while keeping the capsule-learning format.”

Ending the outdoor mask mandate is also under consideration, she said.

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