Health Ministry: Vaccinated Patients Only 3% of Severe COVID Cases

Less than 3% of coronavirus patients in serious or critical condition had received two doses of the coronavirus vaccine, the Health Ministry said on Sunday.

According to data provided by the ministry, of the 6,095 Israelis who were severely ill and hospitalized since the vaccination drive began in December, only 175 were vaccinated twice and at least one week had elapsed since they were administered both doses. Of the remaining 5,920 patients, 75% had not been vaccinated at all.

The ministry said none of those who had succumbed to the virus in February had received vaccines.

The figures are confirmed by data released by hospitals.

“We see a steep decline in the number of hospitalizations for COVID-19 among people who had received two doses of the coronavirus vaccine,” Dr. Erez Barinboim, general director of the Assuta hospital in Ashdod said.

“It is rare to see a patient who had been vaccinated admitted to our hospital, despite the challenges posed by the new variants of the virus,” he said.

According to information released by the ministry late on Saturday, 3,705,330 Israelis have already been administered two doses of the coronavirus vaccine while 4,928,155 were given one dose.

As restrictions imposed during the third lockdown imposed to stop the spread of the virus are lifted on Sunday, 1,800,000 school children are expected to return to class for at least two days per week under some mitigation regulations.

The Education Ministry said on Sunday that 76% of staff in schools have already been vaccinated and 40% of pupils over the age of 16 have also received the vaccines.

The ministry also said that as of Sunday there are 80,000 students and teachers in isolation because of morbidity detected in institutions of learning in the past two weeks.