As countries race to get vaccinations in the arms of their people, one country dominates the rest of the field: Israel.
According to data collected by Our World in Data, Israel has been administering the COVID vaccine at a rate of nearly 25 per 100 people per capita. This equates to just over 23% of the population that has received at least one dose of vaccine.
Leading the world
Americans have watched in horror at how many state governments have mishandled the administration of the COVID vaccine. Notably, thanks to Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo’s disastrous rollout plan, New York saw healthcare institutions forced to throw out expired doses.
While only about 3% of the U.S. population has received the vaccine, not every state has been a disaster as West Virginia, South Dakota and North Dakota led the way with above-average vaccination rates per capita.
But Israel has somehow avoided such disasters and makes even the most successful states in the US look like failure in comparison.
And they leave the rest of the world in the dust.
In less than a month, the country vaccinated nearly a quarter of its population. It delivers shots to nearly 150,000 people every day, Vox reported, and while the nation did put together a priority list, it made a habit from the start to make sure doses were not wasted. In fact, the nation was so successful that there were concerns about running out of doses, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government struck a deal with Pfizer.
From Vox:
In recent weeks, the country has provided admissions to about 150,000 people a day. Priority was given to people over 60 and health workers; But in an effort to avoid wasting shots that could spoil, other Israelis were given the vaccine when they happened to know the right clinic or were in the right place at the right time.
Israel’s rapid campaign worked almost too well: the country soon began to run out of doses, threatening to slow the pace of new vaccinations. Israel also promised to reserve a second dose for everyone who received the first. Follow-up appointments are scheduled for 21 days after the first shot, often to the exact day, sometimes the hour.
But on Jan. 7, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the country had reached an agreement with Pfizer to deliver more vaccines, with the goal of vaccinating all citizens over the age of 16 by the end of March. With more than 70 percent of people over 60 already vaccinated, Netanyahu said on Sunday that the campaign would soon expand to all people 50 and older, aiming for 170,000 vaccinations a day.
Israel got the Pfizer deal by agreeing to share the age, gender and medical history of everyone who received the vaccination, as well as how well the vaccinations work and any side effects, with the company and the World Health Organization, Politico reported.
So how is the rest of the world doing? Well, not great.
The United Arab Emirates comes in second with a rate per 100 of 15.45. Third is Bahrain at 6.44. And it only gets worse from there.
And there is still much work to be done as a percentage of the population for every nation – even Israel.
(H / T: HotAir)