More Israelis Contracted COVID in Jan. Than in All of 2021

As the omicron variant of the coronavirus continues its spread across the country, a new report by the Military Intelligence task force on the coronavirus has found more Israelis have contracted the coronavirus over the last weeks than have been infected in all of 2021. Throughout 2021, some 960,500 Israelis contracted the disease, while in January, around 1.16 million tested positive for COVID-19.

The task force analyzed the prevalence of pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome, or PIMS, during the previous delta wave. With PIMS thus far believed to impact one in every 30,000 Israeli children who contract the disease, task force members asserted that between 100 and 200 Israeli children could expect to suffer from PIMS in the coming weeks. Four children are currently hospitalized with the condition across Israel.

Israel’s infection rate stands at 21.83%, according to Health Ministry data published Wednesday night. Of the 406,007 Israelis to test for the coronavirus that day, 76,155 were found to carry the disease. The reproduction rate is 1.16.

There are 518,096 active cases of the virus. There are 915 people in serious condition, 198 of whom are on ventilators and 20 of whom are hooked up to ECMO machines.

Meanwhile, Health Ministry Director General Prof. Nachman Ash authorized a fourth dose of Pfizer’s vaccine for all high-risk Israelis aged 18 and over with pre-existing conditions and their caretakers as well as Israeli adults at high risk of exposure to the disease.

The move followed data indicating a fourth dose of the vaccine offers twice the protection from infection of that of three doses to Israelis aged 60 and over and three to five times the protection from serious illness from the disease.

Another factor behind the move was the high rate of infections and hospitalizations amid the fifth, omicron-fueled wave of the pandemic.

The fourth dose will be administered a minimum of four months after inoculation with the third dose of the vaccine.