The Secret Behind Israel Vaccinating Over 12% of Its Entire Population

Dividing Vaccine Supply into Small Amounts to Prevent Vaccine Waste
Priority Vaccination Plan for Existing Recipients Due to Unsecured Stable Vaccine Supply

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Israel is drawing international attention for its rapid COVID-19 vaccination rollout, faster than anywhere else in the world. Unlike other countries where vaccination progress has been slow despite vaccine availability, Israel's government policies are credited with enabling a large portion of the population to get vaccinated quickly.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 3rd (local time), in Israel, with a population of 9 million, one out of every ten people has received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Moreover, nearly half of the high-risk groups have been vaccinated. This is the fastest vaccination rate globally.

According to data compiled by Bloomberg, Israel's vaccination rate reached 12.04%. This rate is about three times faster than Bahrain's 4.09%, which is known to have the second-highest vaccination rate. It is also higher than the UK (1.42%), which was the first country to use the vaccine, as well as the United States (1.32%) and Germany (0.29%), where Pfizer-BioNTech developed the vaccine. The high vaccination rate is attributed not only to Israel's swift decision to procure vaccines but also to effective measures taken by Israeli health authorities to accelerate the vaccination process.

The Pfizer vaccine used in Israel requires ultra-cold storage, making its management challenging. Once removed from large storage facilities, it must be administered within five days, and once taken out of the refrigerator, it must be used within six hours. The problem arises when expected vaccine recipients do not show up, forcing the disposal of unused vaccines.

To address this issue, Israel changed the packaging of vaccines sent to less populated areas from packages of 1,000 doses to smaller units. This process was carried out inside refrigerators with Pfizer's approval to ensure safety.

Additionally, if vaccines were at risk of being discarded due to no-shows, younger and middle-aged individuals waiting at vaccination centers were allowed to receive the doses.

Thanks to these policies, Israel has avoided vaccine wastage but simultaneously faces the risk of vaccine shortages for high-risk groups. Israel has secured 8 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, 6 million doses of the Moderna vaccine, and 10 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. However, the timing of their delivery has not yet been finalized. Since all these vaccines require two doses to develop immunity, Israel plans to halt vaccinations for new patients by mid-month and focus on administering second doses to those already vaccinated.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.